A Second Chance
by Sandan1992
Summary: When Kovu's son Akido is brutally murdered by an old enemy and the throne is stolen, The gods decide to reincarnate him back into the Pride. With a new life, the prince sets off to restore the balance of the damaged kingdom. READ IT, YOU WILL ENJOY IT!
1. Chapter 1: A New Generation

*****Author's Note*****

**Hello everyone, Here is my second story. For those of you that read "Nala's Brother," I hope that you'll enjoy this as well. To all you new readers that don't know me, it's good to have you on board. This story was partly inspired by "Dead!" by Kovukono, though the plot is completely different, I feel that I should give credit where it is due. To give a fair warning, there is a lot of tragedy in here, especially in the first few chapters. Enjoy the story.  
****-Ben**

*****Chapter 1*****

*****A New Generation*****

Sunlight seeped into the massive cave through cracks in the walls. The light beamed down, catching the dust suspended in the air and illuminating the cave. A yellowish-tan cub yawned and raised his head to look around the cave with his pale blue eyes. He yawned a second time and nudged his mother.

"Mom…" he leaned against the face of the tan lioness that he lay against.

"Leave your mom alone Akido." Whispered a large dark lion who appeared over them. "She's tired; why don't you come with me."

Akido nodded and pulled away from his mother, who opened her eyes from the disturbance. Without moving her head, she looked up at the lion.

"Thanks Kovu." she muttered sleepily.

"Go back to sleep honey." Kovu told her. "Sleep in today."

Kiara rolled onto her back and smiled. Though she loved her cub, it was nice to be able to sleep alone once in a while.

Kovu turned and lead Akido out into the bright sunlight. The Pridelands were bright and verdant, healthy and strong. Kovu lead his son to the lip of the great rock.

"You know I'm very proud of you son." He told Akido.

The prince smiled. "Yea dad, I know."

"All of this will be yours to rule someday"

Akido's smile widened. "I'll be just as good of a king as you!" he promised.

Kovu laughed and shook his head. "Hopefully you will be a better one than me. It's not easy though, there's a lot to being king that isn't so fun."

"Well then why do it?" asked Akido.

Kovu looked across the savannah. "Although we rule the land Akido, it is never really ours. We rule the land to preserve the great circle of life… If we keep the balance, the Pridelands will thrive and everyone will be happy. If we rule poorly, everything can and will fall apart. We are king not for ourselves, but for the pride and the Pridelands."

Akido nodded. It made sense, though he still planned on having some fun when he got to be in charge.

The father and son team descended the ramp to the savannah

An older red-maned lion waited on a rock outside. "Good morning your highness." greeted the older lion.

Kovu sighed. "Don't do that Simba, you make me feel so weird."

Simba laughed and climbed carefully down off the stone. "Well get used to it. You _are_ the king now after all." Simba looked down at the cub who was still blinking his sleepiness away. "And how are you doing Akido? You look tired."

Akido grinned. "No, grandpa, I'm awake!"

The king yawned. "Well that makes one of us."

A smile crossed Simba's face. "What are your plans for today?"

"I need to go discuss the new hunting plans with the cheetahs after the patrol this morning." Kovu told Simba.

Simba nodded. "I always liked going out to see them. Maybe I'll go with you."

"Dad?" Akido asked. "Can I go play with Adira now?"

The king and former king smiled. "Alright, just stay out of trouble. You scared your mom half to death the other day."

"Hey!" protested the prince. "How were we supposed to know the rhinos were there?"

"Run along." Kovu advised. He watched his son disappear into the grass before turning to Simba. "Am I a good dad?" he asked the former king.

Simba laughed and walked away.

"What?" demanded Kovu, running to catch up. "Am I or not?"

"Kovu, you are a fantastic father, better than I was when I was your age." This seemed to reassure the dark lion. The two continued on across the plains, returning to the discussion of the cheetahs.

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A female cub hung her head over a calm pool of water. The near white cub stared deeply at her reflection, contemplating the phenomenon. A hard shove from behind sent her sprawling into the mud.

"AKIDO!" she yelled angrily.

"What?" the prince responded innocently as he rolled his eyes.

The muddy cub climbed out of the dirt with an evil grin on her face. "You want to play? Fine! Let's play!"

"Wait… Adira, stop… I don't want to have to get another bath!" Akido cringed as Adira lunged at him. The two went rolling across the ground in a frenzy. Mud splashed everywhere as the two cubs rolled through the puddle. The fight ended when a lioness grabbed Akido by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away.

"Mom!" he said, surprised at her arrival. "I thought you were sleeping!"

Kiara chuckled. My mom-senses told me that my son was getting dirty and that he needs a bath.

Adira laughed at the expression of pure horror that crossed the young prince's face, but was cut short by the queen's warning. "You're next Adira! I _know_ that your mom is going to want to clean you!"

The cub groaned, but followed Kiara to where her mother lay.

While the two cubs received their cleaning, they talked about their plans for the day.

"We could go mess with the gophers by the water hole." Offered Adira.

Akido shook his head. "There'll be too many other animals this time of day... What about the big hollow log by the river?"

"That fell in last week." She reminded him.

"Oh yea…" Akido struggled for another idea. "…we could... go see what the rhinos are doing."

_"NO!_" interjected both their mothers simultaneously.

"Or not…" muttered Akido as Adira laughed at him.

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After their bath, the two cubs walked down a path marked by Kovu. The two friends swatted at bugs and chased small rodents all morning. They lived a carefree life without worry or concern. A life that their parents worked hard to provide. The Pridelands were in good hands and all was going well. There was plenty of food, the herds were in balance, and the rainfall was ample. Violence had not plagued the land since the merging of the outlanders with the pride; all was peaceful. Some were even beginning to call it the golden age.

The cubs walked along, still bored, but being bored together.

"I can't wait till I get older." remarked Adira. I'll be a huntress and go stalk animals all day!" With that, she pounced onto a fallen log and held onto the sides with her small claws.

Akido laughed when she fell off. "I think you need some more practice!" he told her.

The cub glared at her friend. "Oh yea? Well you need some practice too before you become king!"

"Trust me," he said. "I'll be a great king! I'll even let you be the leader of the hunting party."

Adira smiled, knowing it was a joke, but simultaneously appreciating the kind thought. "Someday…" she uttered.

"Yea," Akido nodded, remembering his father's words. "Someday."

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The day passed uneventfully, the afternoon heat only adding to the laziness. The sun was setting when Simba and Kovu returned. Kiara and Akido went out to meet them.

"How did it go?" asked Kiara as she nuzzled them both.

Kovu grinned. "I don't know how they do it, but cheetahs always have a way to turn a boring meeting into a lot of fun."

Simba knelt down so he was at Akido's level. "It's a nice evening, want to go for a walk?"

Never wanting to miss a chance to hang out with his grandfather, Akido readily agreed. "Can I bring Adira too?"

"Sure. Why not?" Simba turned to the king and queen. "We'll head out I guess, enjoy the peace."

Kovu and Kiara bid them farewell before they headed off to find Adira.

Once she was found, they departed down a common trail. The setting sun painted the sky blood-red, and various birds sung their unique songs.

"You two are getting big." commented Simba.

Adira giggled and Akido smiled. "Can we ride on your back grandpa?" the young prince asked.

Simba sighed. "I don't know, I'm getting too old for that…"

"?" the two cubs begged.

"Oh, alright." surrendered the retired king as he allowed the cubs onto his back. The trio continued down the path away from Priderock, the cubs growing tired.

"Grandpa?" asked Akido. How much longer till I'm king?"

Simba smiled at the cub's impatience. "When you're ready, you'll know."

"But-" Simba suddenly froze.

"Shhh." He hushed them.

The cubs were silent, unsure as to what was going on. They listened, but didn't hear anything. Akido blinked. There was nothing _to_ hear. All the birds had silenced, it was unnerving and Akido was beginning to worry.

Adira was getting scared too. "Simba?"

"Kids, I want you to get down. We're going back to Priderock."

A voice behind them hissed. "Oh Simba, don't send the children away yet, we're just getting started."

Simba stared at the lioness that stood before him. "Zira? You're alive?"

"Oh yes Simba, and I've got some friends this time…" Akido shrunk away at the evil lioness' smile.

Simba took a strong stance against Zira, placing himself in between her and the cubs. "Whatever you want Zira, let the cubs go."

A dark gray lion emerged from the foliage behind Simba. The creature was even larger than the former king and all the extra weight was pure muscle. He snarled at Simba. "But we need the little ones for a little _event_ we have planned."

"Who are _you_?" Simba demanded.

Zira smiled as she advanced on the aging lion. "Simba, this is Nuru. He's going to be the next king."

"No… Zira… Don't do this." Simba pleaded.

In an instant, Zira raked Simba across his face causing him to roar and reel away in pain. Nuru leapt at the wounded lion and tackled him to the ground. Akido and Adira screamed as Zira picked them up by the scruff of their necks and took them away.

Simba struggled valiantly against the massive gray lion, but he was old and wounded. It didn't take long for Nuru to pin the former king.

Simba stared into his enemy's dark eyes. They seemed to have no color whatsoever. "Why are you doing this?" he demanded of his attacker.

Nuru chuckled evilly and stated simply, "_I want to be king_." With that, the dark beast lunged into Simba's exposed throat and ripped the life from the great lion.

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Zira dropped the two cubs onto the floor of a dark cave near the elephant graveyard. The cavern was made of a dark, wet black stone that seemed to absorb all heat. The cubs looked around fearfully with traumatized eyes.

Zira glared at the two. "Stay here and don't try to leave." she hissed at them. The lioness turned and walked to a ledge where she was greeted by a large group of leopards. They talked quietly in hushed voices, but every so often looked back to make sure the cubs had not tried anything.

"Akdio…" Adira whispered in a terrified voice. "What are they gonna do with us?"

The young prince shook his head. He was just as scared as she was, but he wasn't about to let her see it. "Uh… I don't know… maybe they'll ransom us back to my dad?" he offered.

His friend leaned up against him and he took comfort in her presence. "I'm scared." She whispered in a tiny voice that seemed ready to cry.

Akido nodded. "Me too." He thought back to the Gray lion. "I hope grandpa's okay."

As if on cue, Nuru entered the cave. His grinning maw was still stained with blood. "Well," he spoke sadistically. "That was an easy fight." He looked over at the cubs and chuckled at their horror.

Zira walked over to him and purred. "Simba is dead then?"

Nuru nodded. "He is dead… Now are we ready to proceed?"

The lioness turned and walked back to the leopards. "We're finalizing some details now, but we should be ready very soon."

"Good."

Akido felt a tear slide down his cheek. His grandfather was dead. Brutally murdered by the gray lion that now stood before him. "Grandpa…" he whispered sadly.

Adira nuzzled his cheek. "I'm so sorry." She told him. "How could they _do_ that?"

The two cubs cried silently for many minutes, their tears mixing on each other's cheek. After a while, they laid down. Their breathing became synchronous as they fell into a mournful sleep.

They were awoken by a large leopard. "Come on now kiddies." he taunted them. "We've got a game to play…"

Akido growled as he stood. "I'm not going anywhere."

The creature smiled dangerously. "_It isn't up to you._" He grabbed the prince by his neck and carried him off the center of the cave.

"AKIDO!" yelled the left-behind cub. "Leave him alone!"She tried to chase after them, but was restrained by another leopard.

"You're just gonna love the show we've got planned for you!" hissed the spotted animal as he pushed her to the ground.

Akido writhed and struggled against his captor, but the leopard held him tight. He was taken to the center of the cave and placed in the center of a group of the beasts. Zira stood over him, smiling sadistically.

"Well Akido, we seem to have a bit of a problem here." She told him as the leopards snickered.

The young prince looked back at Adira, only to see her pinned by one of the big cats. "Let her go!"

Nuru stepped to Zira's side and spoke dangerously to the cub. "I wouldn't be too worried about her. As long as your father is as selfless as everyone believes, she won't get hurt. You on the other hand…. Well, like your grandmother said, we have a problem."

Akdio looked at the horrible lioness. "You aren't my grandma! You're lying!"

Zira ignored his protests. "You see Akido, you are the prince and the heir to the throne. If something were to _happen_ to your father, you would become king. We don't want that, so… I'm afraid that we're going to have to _get rid of you_."

Akido was stunned. Did they really mean what he thought they meant? Were they going to kill him? The cub's knees started to shake with fear.

"Tell Simba I said hi." She hissed wickedly. In a flash, Zira raked Akido across his face.

Akido screamed and staggered back. He tried to blink the pain away, but it was too much. He opened his eyes, but all was black. He began to panic, he was blind. The prince heard footsteps padding all around him. He could feel the leopards' breathe cross his face.

"AKIDO!" cried Adira from under the leopard. "Leave him alone!"

Akido heard her call. "ADIRA!" he shouted through sobs. "Help me!" A set of claws drew lines in his sides and he screamed in agony. "Mom! Dad!" he shouted futilely. Jaws closed around his back leg, tripping him to the ground. Pain shot through his leg and the cub heard his small bones crack. Jaws closed around his throat. In a blind panic, Akido struggled in one last attempt to break free. The darkness terrified him, and the leopards laughed at his suffering.

"Help! PLEASE! SOMEBODY!" he cried. His tears mixed with blood as he felt pressure on his throat. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't scream. He couldn't whimper. The jaws violently wrenched back, stealing the cub's neck. Akido lay on the cold stone floor in darkness. The sound of Adira's screams and the laughter of the leopards slowly died away. A final tear fell from the poor cub's bloodied eye as the life drained out of him.

*****Author's Note*****

**And so concludes the first chapter. I know that this is pretty dark, but stay with me. It gets better. As I will say in every chapter, Please Review and comment. I'm very interested in what you think.  
****-Ben**


	2. Chapter 2: The Deal

*****Chapter 2*****

*****The Deal*****

Everything was dark like a starless night. There was no sound. No smell. There was an absence of everything, good or bad. Despite the void, there was a distinct feeling of existence. Akido slowly became self-aware. A familiar voice resonated from his surroundings.

"Akido…" it whispered.

The cub opened his eyes. He could see. There was light, though he could identify no source. Akido examined his body, the wounds were gone. His fur was as unmarred as it had been the day before.

"Akido…" came the voice again.

He looked up. Standing in front of him was Simba. "Grandpa!" he cried, running to the lion. "I thought you were dead!" He looked around again. "Where are we?"

Simba looked down at the cub with sad eyes and sighed deeply. "Akido, I am dead… And so are you."

The young prince stared at his grandfather. "What? No I'm not, I'm right here… You're right here…"

A deep voice came from behind the cub. "It's alright child. You are alright now."

Simba smiled. "Akido, this is _my_ father, your great-grandfather."

Akido shook his head in disbelief. His thoughts raced through the events in the cave. He remembered extreme agony. Blindness. Having his throat ripped out. He staggered back, realizing the truth. "No… No… W-What about Adira? Is she okay?"

Simba nodded. "Zira and Nuru didn't hurt her, but they still have her."

"What are they going to do?"

Mufasa shook his head. "We don't know yet."

Akido sat down and closed his eyes. "I want to go home…" he whispered sadly as he started to weep.

Simba laid down next to him and drew him in into a hug. "You were very brave Akido, I'm very proud of you."

Mufasa left to attend to some other matters, leaving the two alone. They lay in the void for some time, taking comfort in each other's company. Eventually, Akido cried all his tears out and was silent.

"So where are we now?" he asked Simba.

"We are in limbo, neither in heaven or hell." In a short while, you will be admitted to the realm of the kings."

Akido was confused. "But I'm not a king… How can I-"

"You do not have to be a king to go to heaven Akido," Simba explained. "Only a good lion."

As the great lion finished his sentence, an illuminated gate materialized in front of them. Simba stood. "Come on," he said soothingly. "Let's go."

Akido stood nervously and followed Simba into the bright light. They emerged on the other side and Akido's breath was stolen by the beauty.

Vast fields of grass and a cloudless sky. Majestic mountains on the horizon towered over a lush jungle. In the massive field there was a huge rock formation. The tan rock was almost spherical; its formation was a mystery to the cub. All around them, other lions and lionesses greeted them. SImba introduced the newcomer to all the family that he never knew. Mufasa was there with his mate Sarabi, along with their parents. Akido felt relieved to see people that cared for him, but still missed his parents.

After the reunion, Simba lead Akido towards the rock formation and into a cave. A pool of water took up most of the space. It was perfect, no ripples, no imperfections, nothing.

"We can see the pride through this." Simba told Akido. As if on cue, the water rippled and shone not the ceiling's reflection, but the image of Priderock.

Akido leaned over the pool; it was as if there was no surface, as if he could jump down and land next to his family. He stared at the lions. They stood in a circle around the body of red-maned lion. Most wept openly, Nala and Kiara stood over the corpse, tears dripping onto the dead lion's muzzle. Akido saw his father pacing the ground not too far away. Angry tears ran down his face and he sobbed occasionally. After a moment the king approached the mourners.

"I-I'm going to look for Akido and Adira." He said painfully before turning away.

"M-me too." Replied Kiara. The lioness left her father's side reluctantly and started after her mate. She stopped when she realized that Kovu had frozen in his tracks.

The king growled angrily at the old lioness that now stood before him. "Mother." He said angrily.

Kiara was clearly shocked. "Zira? We thought you were dead!"

"You did this didn't you?" he yelled. The whole pride stood behind the king and queen, ready for a fight.

Zira looked hurt. "ME? My dear Kovu, how could you expect an old lioness like me to kill the great Simba? I'm much too frail." Nuru walked up alongside her. "Nuru, however, is plenty strong."

Kovu roared angrily, wanting desperately to sink his teeth into Simba's killer. "WHY HAVE YOU RETURNED?" he demanded.

"We are here to offer you a deal." replied Nuru. "In our part, we will return the girl cub to you and leave the rest of the pride alone. For your part Kovu, you will resign as king, leaving the title to me."

Kovu narrowed his eyes. "You will never be king! Give us back our cubs!"

Zira smiled as leopards emerged from the grass. One held Adira.

"MOMMY!" she called, bringing her mother running.

"Give me back my baby!" screamed the lioness.

Kovu growled at the leopards.

Zira spoke. "What _your highness_? You don't like our staff? Scar had his hyenas, we have leopards. They are far superior, I assure you."

Nuru returned to the deal. "We will return the cub unharmed if you resign, Kovu."

"And if I don't?"

Zira's eyes glistened. She threw a small body across the grass. "If you don't… then she will end up like the late prince."

Kovu stared in horror at Akido's mangled body. Kiara and several other lionesses screamed. The king slowly moved to the corpse, cradling it in his paws. Tears fell from his face onto the Akido's broken body. Kiara wailed hopelessly as she collapsed next to her mate and her dead child. Nala stood behind them, silent tears streaking her muzzle.

Zira stared at them in silent contentment. "It doesn't feel so good to lose your child to the enemy does it _Kovu_? Just know that if you surrender, the other cub will not meet the same fate."

Kovu looked up with hate in his eyes. Then to Adira's mother with pity. He shook his head aggressively, torn by indescison. He knew that although the pride may be able to fight the invaders head on and win, if they were to entrench themselves into Priderock they would be impossible to remove. Kovu hung his head. What could he do? "Fine." he whispered.

"Good." Zira hissed. "Come here." Kovu raised his tear stained head up high and approached the killers.

"What?" he asked calmly. "Are you going to kill me?"

"No." Nuru replied. "But we can't have you be fully functional now can we?" With a single blow, the massive gray lion smashed Kovu's front leg. The king roared in pain and collapsed. The limb was clearly broken.

The leopards advanced onto the pride, moving through the distraught lionesses. The many beasts swarmed over Priderock, claiming it as their own. The one holding Adira released her to her mother and moved off to join the others on the peak.

Kiara rushed to Kovu's side. "Kovu! Oh god Kovu... What do we do?" she asked him urgently.

The former king's eyes were glazed over. "There's nothing we can do… there's too many of them… We've lost." Kovu closed his eyes and wept. Kiara cried with him.

Nuru climbed Priderock and stood the edge of the stone overlooking the savannah. Large thunderheads were rapidly advancing. The evil king roared a deafening roar across the grassland. His victory was complete.

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The pool rippled and the image was gone. Akido blinked away tears that had formed in his eyes. "How could they _do_ that?" he asked to no one in particular.

Simba sighed sadly at the poor cub. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have shown you that."

"I'm glad you did." Akido muttered. He was severely distraught, but he was glad he knew what was happening

"Come on…" Simba said softly. "We have a meeting to get to."

Akido was confused. "What meeting?"

The great lion looked down at the cub as he guided him through a tunnel in the back of the cave. "The Council of Great Kings wishes to speak with you."

"Why?"

Simba shrugged his wide shoulders. "I don't really know… I haven't been here long enough to really take part in the decisions."

Akido blinked. "Wait, you're on the Council of Great Kings? You're one of the great kings?"

Simba laughed at the cub's surprise. "Yes, and your father will be there too someday."

Akido hung his head. "But _I_ won't…"

Simba felt bad for the cub. His life was taken from him before he could really experience life. But, he thought, there was nothing they could do.

The two animals traveled down the dark, yet not unlit passage. They emerged in a large cave with high ledges on the sides. On the ledges sat many large lions who looked at the cub with unrevealing eyes. Simba led Akido to a large flat stone in the center of the ledges. The former prince blinked nervously as he climbed on top of the rock and looked around at the unfamiliar faces. He scanned the crowd for anything comforting. He found one such thing off to his left. Mufasa looked down at him with a smile. Akido smiled back, reassured.

A large black-maned lion began to speak. "How are you, Akido? We are all very sorry for the way that you joined us."

"Ummm… I'm okay, I guess."

The lion continued. "We would like to welcome you into the afterlife. My name is Rakka.

Akido nodded. "Thanks, it's really nice here."

The kings seemed to be pleased with his politeness and some of their expressions softened. "Would you answer a question for us Akido?"

"Uh… yea, sure."

The black-maned lion paused before continuing. "What do you want us to do?"

Akido was confused. "What?"

Rakka smiled. "Usually when animals come before us, they make all sorts of demands and requests that we intervene in the mortal world. Do you have any such requests?"

Akido shook his head. What could he ask for? To not be dead? That Nuru wasn't king? It was all too ridiculous. "I don't think there's anything you can do for me." He answered quietly. Then he had an idea. "Actually, maybe you could tell me something?"

Rakka nodded. "Of course Akido."

"Who is Nuru, and why is he so evil?"

Rakka sighed deeply. "Nuru was once a bodyguard to a king in a distant kingdom. He was given anything he wanted in exchange for his service, but he was still greedy for more. He wanted more from the king, but the king had already given all that he could. Nuru turned to the only person who could give him the power that he wanted, Shetani."

"The devil?" asked Akido for clarification.

"Yes. Shetani offered him power and he accepted it."

Akido was confused "So… Shetani made him big and strong?"

"No," Rakka explained. "He was already physically dominant, there was no need for Shetani to change that. Instead, he took Nuru's mind and hardened it. Shetani made him cruel, violent, and ultimately more powerful. Before he was just greedy, but Shetani gave him the ambition to use his physical superiority and removed the moral blocks that prevented him from using his strength."

"So… why didn't he take over that pride?"

"He tried to use brute force to threaten the king, but that didn't work and he was banished. He found Zira in the outlands and they formulated a plan to take your father's kingdom."

Akido glared at the floor. He asked the old king angrily, "Why can't you just get rid of Shetani? Then stuff like this wouldn't happen!"

"You cannot have light without the shadows, Akido. We exist in balance with Shetani.

Akido was starting to get really mad. "Well that _balance_ got me and my grandpa killed and then ruined my family's life!"

Rakka waited patiently for Akido to finish before continuing. "Balance did not do that, _imbalance_ did."

"_What?_" The cub wished that this guy would just get to the point.

"By changing Nuru, Shetani overstepped her influence and threw us into imbalance. We have the responsibility to preserve the balance and when necessary, restore it."

"So what are you going to do?" asked Akido, starting to get hopeful. Would they strike Nuru and Zira dead? Maybe they could heal his dad so that _he _could fight Nuru.

"We are going to make you an offer."

"Me? Why me?"

"We have the power to change one individual, just as Shetani did. If you wish, we can restore you to your family as a newborn. Your mother is pregnant, though she doesn't know it yet. The decision to return or not is yours."

Akido was stunned. He was being offered a second chance at _life_! He could go home, he could hug his parents, he could play with Adira! He paused. There had to be a catch. "What's my purpose for going back?"

Rakka smiled softly at the perplexed cub. "Your job is to correct the imbalance." He answered simply.

"Will I remember any of this?"

"Yes, that's the key part of this offer. You will be reborn to your mother with all the memories that you have now."

Akido was silent. He could not believe it. It seemed too good to be true. His thoughts were interrupted by Mufasa.

"Akido," he boomed. "We know this is a lot to ask of you. You do not have to do this if you do not want to. If you wish, you could stay here with us."

The cub thought about it. If he went back, he would have to face Nuru and Zira again. He shuddered at the memories of agony. But if he didn't, his family would have to face them alone. There was no comparison. "I want to go back." He told the kings. "I'll fix this."

Rakka nodded and smiled. "Thank you Akido. You have our blessings."

Simba nudged the cub's shoulder. "Come on." he whispered. Akido followed him out of the cavern.

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Though Akido was ready to return immediately, he was forced to wait by the cruel forces of nature. His body simply was not ready to be born. He spent most of his time watching Priderock through the looking pool. He watched his family live in Nuru's kingdom, if it could be called living. The new king was exceptionally cruel and ruled with an iron fist. If anyone crossed him, he would have them beaten to unconsciousness. He made Zira his queen despite the massive age difference, and the two lived in luxury. Unlike Kovu, Nuru used the Pridelands for his own personal gain. He felt no responsibility to the land, though he made sure that it was healthy enough to support his needs.

Akido watched his father a lot. He wished that he could be closer to him, rather than only be able to stare down from the pool. Kovu's leg slowly healed, but he was different. Nuru's blow damaged the limb and the former king was now permanently hindered. He could walk around fine, but Kovu would never be able to hunt or fight again. Kiara was often with her mate. They spent a lot of time together, sitting in silence. Akido wished desperately that he could be with them.

Adira was a wreck as well. She stayed with her mother all day and night, afraid to go out by herself. The leopards frightened her a lot and reminded her of the terrible event she witnessed. As with the rest of his family, Akido wanted to be with her. To help her. But he couldn't. Not yet.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

One day, about a week before his birthday, Akido asked Simba if he could get closer to his family than through the pool.

Simba smiled. "There is a way for us to reenter the mortal world, but it's difficult." He told the cub.

Akido was very curious. "How?"

"We can go back and walk around, but no one will be able to see us. We can only stay for a couple hours before we have to leave. It's very tiring.

"I want to do it!" cried Akido.

"Alright, let's go." He replied.

The cub followed his grandfather back to the cave with the looking pool. Simba guided him down a small passageway that he hadn't noticed before, and they emerged in another chamber. There was a gate against the wall that led into darkness. Akido hung behind his grandfather. "Is that how we go back?"

Simba nodded. "All you have to do is walk through it, then hold on. The longer you stay, the harder it is to hold on. If you let go, you end up back here."

Akido was estatic. "Let's go!" With that, he lunged into the darkness.

He felt nothing, no ground, no air, nothing. It was like limbo again. Slowly, he felt ground materialize underneath him. A soft breeze flowed past him. Akido opened his eyes. It was evening and he was standing a hundred meters from the base of Priderock. The cub let out a yelp of happiness and raced off to find his loved ones.

The first thing he noticed was the leopards. They hung around dangerously, itching for a fight. They gave him the chills at the memory of his death. Akido ran up the incline and found himself in the sleeping cave. His mother lay with his grandmother in the corner.

"I'm scared, mom." Whispered Kiara.

"Honey, you're bringing a new life into the world. You should be happy."

Kiara whimpered. "What if I can't protect him? What if I lose him too?"

Nala nuzzled her daughter's cheek. "That wasn't your fault. You will do great."

"I wish daddy was here…" she muttered.

A tear fell from Nala's eye. "Me too honey. Me too.

The two lionesses laid there in silence for some time. Akido found it weird that he was watching his mother while she was pregnant with him, but it was soothing for him at the same time. It was nice to be this close to her again.

Movement from behind him caught Akido's eye, and he turned in time to see his father exiting the cave. The deceased cub chased after the lion. He ran up a dark pathway to the top of Priderock. He reached the peak and found his father staring out at the savannah. The sun had set and the sky was turning from purple to black. Stars were beginning to reveal themselves and the birds of the grasslands grew silent. Akido sat next to his father, taking comfort in his company.

To his surprise, Kovu began to speak. "Simba… Akido…"

"I'm right here dad!" cried the cub, desperately wanting to console his grief-stricken father.

"_I'm sorry_." The pain in the former king's voice was clear. He looked up at the stars. "Simba…" he began. "You always said that when you die, you would watch over us. "If you're listening… I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I let you die, and I'm sorry that I let Akido die. I let your kingdom fall apart_. I wasn't strong enough_." The dark lion began to sob uncontrollably.

Akido was heartbroken at his father's words. Tears began to fall from the cub's eyes.

Kovu continued through sobs. "I'm sorry, Akido. It was my job to… to protect you. And I failed… I failed _you_." He looked up at the stars. for several moments. "Sleep well my son." He whispered before turning and walking down the path.

Akido was left alone in the night. Tears stained his muzzle. He wanted to leave, this was too much. Akido started down the path. He began to feel his mind slip, he was being pulled back to the gate room. NO! He thought suddenly. There was still one last person he had to see. He clenched his thoughts and ran back to the main cave. Once inside, he scanned the now sleeping bodies. He saw his parents lying together with his grandmother off to the side. In the rear of the cave Nuru lay with Zira, surrounded by leopards. Akido felt a sharp stab of anger, but brushed it away. He only had a limited amount of time, and he needed to find Adira.

The cub searched the unconscious bodies, eventually finding his friend. Adira lay in her mother's arms, sleeping soundly. Akido smiled, she looked so peaceful. "I'll be back soon." He whispered in her ear. Adira's ear twitched as if she heard him.

A voice from behind made the cub turn. "Akido." It called. "It's time to leave…"

The former prince turned to his grandfather. "Okay". He said solemnly. "Let's go." Akido released his mental grip and felt the world dissipate around him. He watched Adira as the image blurred. "_Goodbye_." He whispered to her one final time to the sleeping cub.

*****Author's Note*****

**I hope that this chapter and the previous one are interesting enough to keep you satisfied for the next week or so. I'm leaving for Boy's State tomorrow and won't be back untill next Saturday, so be patient. Thanks for reading.**

**Review and Comment Please!  
-Ben**


	3. Chapter 3: The Return

*****Chapter 3*****

*****The Return*****

Akido couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. All his muscles were clenched and his mind was panicking, but he could do nothing. He felt large soft hands close around him and lift him. Suddenly his lungs kicked in. Akido sucked in sharply; the fresh air stung his new lungs. He opened his eyes and was blinded by a bright light. As he became more comfortable with the brightness, forms began to take shape. He focused on the nearest being, slowly making out the dark face of a lion with a scar over one eye. _Dad._ Akido tried to smile, but his mouth wouldn't move. He felt a gentle tongue caress his body from behind. He forced his head to turn and look behind him. _Mom._ His mother cradled him in her paws, licking him clean. The newborn's ears were soon clear, and he began to identify the voices around him.

"He's beautiful, Kiara; thank you Rafiki."

"It vas no problem. He appears quite healthy, but he is not crying… vedy peculiar."

Akido blinked_. Oh yea, he was supposed to be a newborn_. It probably wasn't a good idea to worry his parents. He opened his mouth and started to cry.

The mandrill blinked and turned away. "Neva mind den…"

Kira purred as she continued to lick her son clean. "Oh Vateli… You make me so happy."

Oh no… They named him _Vateli_? If Akido could have groaned, he would have. He knew that they would name him something new, but _Vateli_? It almost sounded like a girl's name. Speaking of which...

Akido looked up at a new figure that appeared over him. Adira smiled down at him with sad eyes. "You look just like him." She whispered.

Akido mewed softly, trying out his new voice. He stretched his body despite the pain in his unused limbs. Everyone around him smiled as the child became accustomed to his surroundings.

The day passed blissfully for the newborn cub. He was back with family, and they were happy. Kovu never took his eyes off his son and Kiara slept with him in between her paws. Akido was exhausted, so he slept a lot. He found it weird to be so small, his parents were looming giants and even Adira was massive. The cave they were in seemed to extend forever, though he remembered it to only be about twenty feet across.

The pride was joyful for the first time in forever, but their celebration was cut short by a few late arrivals.

"Well, well, well… I smell another child in our midst." Nuru hissed. Zira entered the cave behind him with several leopards.

Kovu's eyes narrowed dangerously at his son's killer. "What do _you_ want?"

"As the king, it is my responsibility to greet all newcomers…" Nuru claimed as he grinned "… and make sure that they pose no threat to our family."

Akido's heart sank. It sounded as though Nuru planned to _kill_ him… _Again_. He didn't doubt that Nuru would do it, and he definitely was not looking forward to going through _dying_ again. The newborn mewed in protest.

Kovu stood his ground and glared at the king. "You will not touch my son." he told Nuru in a near whisper.

Nuru looked like he was about to laugh. "I have no intention of hurting the newborn… yet." He looked down at Akido and spoke slowly. "Little Vateli, I'll make a deal with you. If you stay out of my way and don't cause any trouble, then I'll try not to kill you like I did your brother." The gray lion turned to the infuriated Kovu. "You should be careful too, Kovu. Now you just have one more thing to lose." Nuru glared at the lionesses and exited the cave. Zira laughed to herself and left as well.

Kiara nuzzled her child lovingly. "I'll never let them hurt you Vateli." She whispered in his ear.

Akido smiled at her affection and snuggled deeper into her warmth. He was okay, and so was everyone else. _Vateli. _ He supposed he could get used to that. The newborn closed his eyes and felt his father lie down next to him. The rhythmic breathing of his parents slowly lulled him to sleep.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Weeks passed and the returned prince grew rapidly. He was careful to never stray too far from his parents or other friends, or from Priderock at all. This was his second chance, and he didn't plan on getting killed before he could even fight back. Akido was pleased to find that Adira enjoyed spending time with him. Even though she was a bit older than him, there was no other cub in the pride that was any closer to her age. He found it funny how his parents occasionally had her babysit him.

"ADIRA!"

"WHAT?"

"hi!" Akido ran around a bush, enticing his friend to chase him.

"Vateli… one of these days I'm going to snap and just throw you into the waterhole."

Akido hid in the bushes. Frankly, he found this as annoying as she did, but he had a part to play. If he seemed too mature, people would start to wonder. Not that they would ever expect that he was the deceased prince reincarnated to restore the balance, but maybe Nuru would start to think that he was becoming a threat. After all, he was the son of the former king, and he did have a clear motive for killing his brother's murderer. No, it was better to play it safe and just be a cub. He saw Adira walk by and he leapt out, knocking her down. "GOTCHA!"

"Vateli…" she groaned s she stood up. "You make getting a drink of water soooo difficult…"

Akido trotted away triumphantly. "I try."

"I know you do, you little demon." she grumbled as she followed him to the stream. Adira watched the growing cub drink. She had a sad expression on her face.

"What?" Akido asked.

Adira shook her head. "Nothing…"

"What?" he asked persistently, walking over to her.

She paused and looked down at the cub she knew as Vateli. "You look just like your brother." she explained somberly.

Akido had no idea what to say. Should he make a joke? Console her? He decided to be inquisitive. "What was he like?"

Adira smiled and sat down next to him. "Well, he looked like you. He was always fun to hang out with, a great guy in general. He wanted to be king so badly…" a tear fell from her eye and Adira started choking on her words.

Akido instantly regretted bringing up the subject. "Don't cry… I'm sorry." He offered as he rubbed against her.

Adira pushed him away and tried to smile. "No, Vateli, it isn't you… I- I just miss him is all. He was too young… and too important to me to die." She looked up at the cloudless sapphire sky. "Why do you think we have to die, Vateli? Why don't the kings just let everyone live forever?"

"Balance." He answered simply, remembering Rakka's words.

Adira looked at him, clearly confused. "What?"

Akido looked down at the water. "If we don't have the bad parts of life, we can't appreciate the good parts. The good balances out the bad so that we can _really_ live."

His friend looked at him, stunned. "Who told you that?"

"Ummm…" Quick, he scrambled, who told him that? "Uuh… Rafiki! He uh stopped by the other day to see my mom."

Adira looked at him strangely. She knew something was up, but couldn't figure out what. "You are a strange cub, you know that? Come on, let's get back before your dad sends out a search party."

Akido laughed and fell into step alongside her.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

That night, Akido grew restless. He pulled away from his sleeping mother and walked out into the bright moonlit night. Everything was silent and a cool breeze blew his fur. He stared up at the stars. _Tiny holes in the floor of heaven_, he thought. He thought about the afterlife, the kind kings, and Simba. Akido missed his grandfather and wanted to talk to him. The poor cub wanted to talk to someone, someone who knew who he really was.

He desperately wanted to tell everyone the truth, but he knew it was a stupid idea. No one would believe him, he was a cub. They would dismiss his declaration as a "foolish child's prank." In addition, he would probably get a bunch of people angry at him for "pretending" to be Akido. As much as he disliked the whole situation, he knew it couldn't be helped. He was Vateli, though he still hated the name.

A voice to his side made him turn. "Something on your mind, Akido?"

"Grandpa!" the cub ran and embraced the deceased king. "How are you here?" he asked.

Simba smiled. "I have my ways… I'll be checking in on you a lot."

"Why haven't you come to me before now?"

Simba snorted. "You haven't been alone much since you were born. There wasn't any chance for me to see you."

Akido blinked. His grandfather was right, this was the first time he had _really_ been alone in his new life. "Well it's good to see you now, Grandpa." He hugged the surprisingly tangible lion.

Simba put his paw around the cub. "You are doing well, you know. The kings are proud of you."

Akido smiled. "I haven't done anything yet."

"You're really helping your family. They're happy again."

"My dad would be happier if you talked to him."

Simba shook his head. "You know I can't. I am not allowed to make contact with the living except for emergencies."

"And for me."

A grin split the old lion's face. "Yes Akido, and you."

"So what do I do now? I'm back, do I just wait?" Akido asked.

His grandfather nodded. "Yes. I know it's difficult, but there's nothing that you can do except keep making your family happy."

Akido looked across the dimly lit landscape. He could do this; lay low, keep everyone happy. "Okay grandpa…" Simba was gone. "Umm… okay then, talk to you later…" he spoke to the wind.

"Vateli?" it was Kovu. "Who are you talking to?" he asked as he limped toward the lone cub. "And why are you out here all alone?"

"Ummm… I was just talking to… _myself_….cause I couldn't sleep." He lied.

Kovu sat on the stone ledge next to him and gazed at the stars. "It's a beautiful night…"

"Yea."

Kovu sighed deeply, clearly perturbed. "Vateli, have I ever told you about your brother?"

Akido was taken aback. "Not really." he replied. "I mean, I know about him and everything, but you never talk about him."

The former king's eyes remained glued to the sky. "Well I should. He looked a lot like you, same color coat; similar eyes… even the same laugh. He was always such a good kid. Nuru killed him… and your grandfather… and I let it happen."

"Dad…"

"No, Vateli, it's my fault. I couldn't save either of them. I wasn't a good enough king." Tears had started to make their way down the dark lion's cheek. "They are probably looking down from the stars right now, hating me… And they should."

The two were silent for a while. Akido desperately wanted to explain to his father that it _wasn't_ his fault and that he _did_ loved him, but he knew it would never work. He didn't know what to say.

Kovu sniffed. "I'm sorry son, I didn't mean to-"

"You're wrong, Dad." Akido interrupted.

It took a moment for Kovu to respond. "What?"

"I said you're wrong. Grandpa's very proud of you."

The dark lion snorted. "And how would you know that?"

"I can't tell you... But it's the truth." Akido nuzzled his father's pelt before walking off to the cave.

Kovu stared at his departing son with a mix of confusion and wonder. The cub had spoken with such sincerity and emotion that it was hard to simply disregard the statement. Kovu looked back to the stars. "I'm sorry, Simba." he whispered a final time before following his son to bed.

*****Author's Note*****

**I know that I said that the last one was the last until I came back, but I sat down, started writing, and ended up finishing the next chapter! So here it is; the **_**real**_** last chapter before I leave.**

**Please Read, Review, and Comment! I'll see you all soon, watch for updates.**

**-Ben**


	4. Chapter 4: Paradox

*****Author's Note*****

**I have returned from Boy's State, a bit tanner, more physically fit thanks to the Marines, and with a competent understanding of how our state government functions. A great experience that I recommend to anyone and everyone… but let's get back to the story.**

**-Ben**

*****Chapter 4*****

*****Methods*****

"But Dad!" Akido protested.

"The answer is _NO_ Vateli!" Kovu watched his restless son pace the cave irritably. "I'm sorry, but you know that it's just too dangerous. We shouldn't even be talking about it!"

"Your father's right, son," agreed Kiara from the corner. "It's simply not worth the risk."

Akido was getting frustrated. "But what if I have to fight? How will I protect myself if I was never taught how to?"

Kovu sighed and closed his eyes to clear his head. "If I have my way, you never will _have_ to fight. If you start learning how to, then you _will_ fight."

"I promise that I won't, Dad!" begged the young lion.

The former king shook his head. "It's not up to you. If Nuru found out… you wouldn't have a choice."

"I'd be _really _careful!" he pleaded.

"_No!_" Kovu was adamant.

"Vateli," began Kiara, "It's not that we don't trust you, we just don't want you to get hurt. We couldn't bear to lose you." The emotion that saturated her voice almost brought a tear to Akido's eye.

He sighed. There was no way that they were going to give in. It was a lost cause. "Alright." He mumbled, walking towards the cave's exit. His parents didn't understand, nor could they. The purpose for him learning how to fight wasn't so that he could protect himself _in case_ Nuru attacked him, but rather so that _he_ could attack the evil lion himself. His parents wanted to protect him, he didn't blame them, but they were making it difficult. How could he get rid of Nuru if he couldn't fight? And how was he to correct the balance if he couldn't get rid of Nuru? The paradox was irritating. He decided to go find Adira; she was probably off in the nearby field training for her first hunt.

He trotted down a path away from the Priderock marked by his father, careful to avoid the leopards, who mostly stayed around the base of great stone. He didn't expect any trouble from them, but he figured that it was probably safer to stay out of their line of sight. Though he was growing quickly, they were still bigger than him and more powerful. He figured that in a couple months he would be strong enough to _maybe_ hold his own against one, though he wasn't considering his significant lack of experience. For now, they were too strong, and ultimately too dangerous. He would avoid them until they considered _him_ to be dangerous.

He located the field where he expected Adira to be, and climbed atop a large boulder overlooking the grass. He scanned the green blades for his friend, but it was in vain. If she was there, he couldn't find her. And if he couldn't find her, she didn't want him to, and he wasn't going to try. Akido wanted desperately to talk with her, but he knew that disrupting her practice would only make her angry. He sighed and turned back to Priderock a short ways away. Maybe he would go find his Grandmother. Not Zira of course, but Nala.

"HUUUMF!" Akido went flying into the grass from a heavy collision from the side. He scrambled to look at his attacker once he had stopped rolling, but was immediately pushed again. He rolled back farther into the grass, though this time his attacker rolled with him. Paws pressed down on his shoulders, stopping his motion and pinning him to the ground. Akido looked up into the face of a smiling Adira.

"Gotcha." She stated in a satisfied tone.

Although Akido wanted to see her, the condition of her greeting put him in a sour mood. "GET OFF OF ME!" he demanded.

Adira calmly retrieved herself and sat a few feet away, still clearly content. "I think that was enough practice for one day."

Akido snorted and turned away. "First my parents, then you…" he mumbled to himself, not really expecting her to hear him.

She may not have heard his actual words, but she realized that he was upset about something. "What?" she asked, falling into step alongside him. "What's bothering you?"

The growing cub sighed. He had wanted to talk with her before, but now he wished that she wasn't there. He found it difficult to articulate his problem.

"My parents won't let me do anything." he said after a moment of silence.

Adira smiled sadly. "They just care about you is all. They don't want you to get hurt."

"They don't understand." Akido shook his head. "They can't protect me. There's stuff I _have_ to do, and it's dangerous."

Adira gave him a funny look. "And what exactly do you _have_ to do?"

Akido blinked, realizing that he had said too much. It dawned upon him that Adira didn't understand either. She couldn't, none of them could. Everyone thought of him as a weak child who needed protection, not the one that would defeat Nuru. There was no one that he could confide in that would understand the need for him to know how to fight. He sighed again, and decided to just keep talking. Maybe his friend could offer some new insight that he hadn't seen before. "I want to learn how to fight in case I ever need to, but my parents won't let me. They think it's too dangerous."

Adira frowned. "You're not going to want to hear this, but I think that they're right."

He nodded. It was expected; none of his friends or family wanted him to get hurt. "But what if I get attacked like Akido was?" he asked.

"Vateli, if Nuru wanted you dead, he could kill you no matter how well trained you are." She said bluntly and sadly. "If he thinks that you're learning how to fight, he _will_ kill you."

Akido glared at the dirt. He hated to admit it, but she was right. It was far more dangerous for him to learn than it would be to just lie low. Unless he made them understand that he intended to overthrow Nuru someday, there was no way to justify learning how to fight. "I guess you're right." He grumbled.

"Come on." she told him. "Let's go for a walk. I'm bored with hunting practice."

Akido smiled and followed her down the path. Even though he was bothered, a carefree talk with Adira always lightened his mood. The two young lions walked for a while, discussing rather trivial topics. How the older lionesses were annoying, the quantity of the rain, or even the colors of various pebbles that they passed on the ground. Akido knew that it was only a matter of time before they stumbled upon a subject of significance, so he waited patiently.

"Vateli?" Adira eventually asked.

"Yea?"

"Do you… Do you have any questions or anything?"

"About what?" he asked.

Adira looked up at the bright blue sky. "About anything. You always just seem to take in everything with complete acceptance. Is there anything that doesn't make sense to you?"

Akido contemplated the matter. No, he decided. Maybe if he couldn't remember his first life he would have questions. But since he could, everything was pretty clear. He shook his head. "No… I think I get everything." Then he realized that Adira would not have asked unless she found something to be perplexing herself. "Is there anything that doesn't make sense to you?"

Adira blinked, surprised at his question. She looked away and shook her head very subtly. "There isn't much that _does_ make sense anymore…"

There was definitely something on her mind, he decided. "Like what?"

The young lioness was clearly bothered about something, though she also clearly did not want to talk about it. "It's nothing Vateli… You wouldn't understand."

Akido almost laughed at her statement. "You'd be surprised at what I can understand."

"No, really. This is pretty personal."

She seemed pretty stubborn, but Akido wasn't about to let her off the hook that easy. "You asked me if I had any questions, and I've got one. What's bothering you?"

Weak muscled pulled gently at the corners of Adira's mouth. "It's just that I miss your brother..." She answered. "And I don't understand why he had to die…" tears began to form in her eyes as she spoke.

He should have known. It was easy for him to put the whole event behind him, and it was just as easy for him to think that everyone else was just as alright. But the fact was that they weren't. Adira acted strong and emotionally tough, but she was still deeply missing her best friend.

She blinked away her tears and continued. "There's so much that I wish I could tell him…"

"Why don't you?" Akido asked.

"What do you mean?"

The young lion looked up at the sapphire sky. "If you tell him, he _will_ hear you."

Adira snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yea and he's watching me right now."

Her sarcasm was slightly irritating. "What, you don't think he is?" Akido asked, looking back at his friend.

"I think that I'd prefer him to be _actually_ here rather than floating around in the stars." Adira responded.

Akido stared at her. He wanted so badly to tell her the truth. Tell her that he could hear her, that he hadn't forgotten. It took all his self control to prevent him from blurting out his secret. He turned away so that she wouldn't see the turmoil in his eyes.

They continued down the path in silence for a while. The savannah was surprisingly silent as well; there were few bugs and no wind. The hot sun and humidity suffocated all the African life and made Akido almost regret going on the walk.

The two young lions were walking along a rock formation, shaded from the blistering sun, when a zebra leapt from behind a large boulder. Without thinking, Akido leapt and knocked Adira out of the way of the frightened animal, narrowly missing the zebra's heavy hooves. They rolled in the dust, hearts racing from the near collision.

His friend looked at him with wide eyes. "Thanks." She muttered, still kind of in shock.

"Yea," replied Akido, just as stunned. "No problem…"

A voice from near the boulder made them both jump. "Oh no, There is _definitely_ a problem here." A dark leopard emerged from the rock's shadow, glaring at the two. "That was _my _kill, and _you_ scared it away." He said furiously.

The leopard's logic was clearly faulty, decided Akido. If _they_ had scared the zebra, it would have run the other way, not towards them, but he didn't think it was a great idea to start an argument with an already livid leopard. He figured diplomacy was probably the best option. "Look, we're sorry; we didn't know you were out here."

The cat glared dangerously, slowly advancing on the two. "Well you really should have known."

Adira tried to calm him down. "Really, we didn't mean to do it; we'll leave so you can go back to your hunt." She turned back to the way they came from, but was cut off by the Leopard.

"I think you two need to be _disciplined_ for your intrusion."

_Oh great._ Akido thought to himself. This was _not _a good situation to be in. He looked slowly to Adira, who was clearly frightened by the animal. "Ummm Adira…" He whispered.

She looked at him slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. She answered in an equally quiet voice. "Yea, Vateli?"

_"RUN!"_ he yelled, taking off away from the leopard.

Adira took his advice and ran after him. They ran as fast as they could through the maze of boulders and rocks. The leopard stayed right on their trail, hindered only by the dust that the two lions were kicking up. Akido and Adira sprinted through what had probably been a riverbed at one point. Large rocks prevented them from exiting through the sides. There was nowhere for them to go other than straight forward along the low land.

Akido looked over at his friend. Adira was out of breath, but not nearly as bad as he was. He looked back at the leopard, only to see him smile evilly. The beast wasn't even breathing hard. The situation was worsening. He realized that the small chasm they were in was gradually narrowing. If it kept thinning, they would soon be either trapped or forced to try to climb the sides. Neither option sounded very appealing to Akido, but what could he do? He kept running, hoping and praying to the kings that they would get out of this alright.

Adira looked at him with terrified eyes. She had come to the same conclusion that he had, they were in some serious trouble. The walls kept closing in on them, eventually pushing the two against each other. Suddenly, the path opened into a larger opening. Akido ran around, looking in vain for the continuation of the trail. It did not continue; they were trapped. Akido's heart was pounding so hard that he thought it would burst through his chest. He turned back toward where they had entered from, maybe they could get around the leopard before he caught up to them.

It may have been a good idea, but it came to him too late. The leopard was already there, laughing quietly at the frightened and cornered teenagers. He slowly advanced toward Adira, but Akido lunged at the animal. He moved quickly, but the leopard was far faster. Akido hit empty space and fell to the ground. He quickly rolled away and onto his feet, narrowly avoiding a paw-full of claws that descended on the ground where he fell. The prince was out of breath, but the leopard seemed fine. Adira tried to knock the leopard to the ground, but received a sharp blow to the face, sending her sprawling across the stone.

Akido roared angrily and pounced on the spotted cat. The leopard saw him coming and raked his claws across Akido's shoulder. The young lion fell away, blood flowing down his leg. The wound wasn't pretty, but surprisingly, it didn't hurt much. The leopard leapt at Akido, expecting him to be off guard from the pain, but Akido was more ready than the beast expected. He dove underneath the flying beast and raked upwards across its underside. The Leopard roared in pain and anger, turning back to the young lion.

"I was going to just _hurt_ you, but for that I plan on _killing_ you." he told Akido dangerously.

Akido looked frantically around. There was nowhere he could go, and he wasn't going to get another lucky shot like he had before. He ran to Adira and helped her up to her feet. He didn't know what to do. The leopard still blocked the exit. There was nowhere to go. He looked to his bloodied shoulder; it was pretty bad. _Please grandpa,_ he thought to the heavens. _Help us!_

*****Author's Note*****

**Thanks for being patient; I know it's been a while.**

**Review and comment please!**


	5. Chapter 5: New Friends

*****Chapter 5*****

*****New Friends*****

The leopard slowly advanced on the two frightened lions with an evil grin. A small trickle of blood flowed down from the beast's underbelly, but he didn't pay any attention to it. Akido's shoulder was in much worse shape. He was aware of the pain, but for whatever reason it was easy for him to ignore it. He looked back at Adira. She was cringing against the side of a large rock in terror. The young lion would have been lying if he said he felt any different. He stared in horror at the approaching leopard. Vivid memories of agony and blindness filled his thoughts. He remembered the ripping of his flesh at the claws of the fierce leopards and the screams he cried right before his death. He looked around frantically for an exit, some way to escape the beast's wrath. _NO! Don't panic!_ He told himself. Panicking would only get him killed. _Again_.

The leopard was almost upon them. He moved so slowly, thoroughly enjoying his victims' suffering. Suddenly a yellow blur knocked the leopard off his feet. A cheetah stood over the assailant in a stance ready for combat. The humiliated leopard snarled angrily and leapt at the yellow cat with his claws outstretched. The cheetah sidestepped the danger and raked his claws alongside the evil cat's body. The leopard howled and tackled his rival to the ground. The two cats rolled on the ground, a fury of yellow fur and claws.

Akido ran to Adira who was still crouching in terror. She stared at the fight with dilated pupils and a quivering torso. Her breathing was heavy, though she hadn't moved in a while. Akido lay next to her and tried to comfort the obviously petrified lioness. "It's okay, Adira. We're gonna be okay…" He hoped that he was right, the leopard and the cheetah seemed to be fighting with relatively equal prowess.

The two cats rolled on the stone, each trying to gain the upper hand over the other. The fight kicked up a large amount of dust, obscuring the lions' view. The violence abruptly ended and silence persisted. Akido strained his eyes to see who the victor was. The dust prevented him from seeing who it was that rose from the corpse. Both the leopard and cheetah had similar bodies and without seeing the fur pattern, it was impossible to tell who it was. The dark figure slowly advanced towards the lions, head hung low.

"Are you two alright?" it asked. The cheetah emerged from the cloud of settling dust. He was definitely full grown, but only just. He was still relatively young.

Akido released the chest-full of air that he realized he was holding and thanked the kings for this cat. "Yea… we're okay." He answered slowly, rising to his feet. "Thanks for saving us."

The cheetah smiled and laid down to catch his breath. Several cuts on his torso were oozing blood, but nothing appeared too severe. "Well I wasn't just going to leave you there. My name's Tana… Is she alright?"

Akido looked down at Adira. She was still staring at the bloodied leopard that lay on the ground not too far away. She was still shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Adira?" he asked. "Come on, Adira… snap out of it." He gently nudged her shoulder and she snapped her eyes to the young lion.

"Akido?… No, don't … Akido …" she muttered.

"No, Adira. It's me, Vateli…" he told her. Though it was nice to be called Akido for a change, he had to set her straight. He was Vateli to her, not Akido. She needed familiarity to recover from her apparent flashback.

She looked at him with wide, teary eyes. "But… Vateli… Akido… No…" she buried her head in Akido's shoulder and sobbed.

The young lion held her tightly, wishing he could take her pain away. It killed him to know that she was so traumatized by his death. "I think she'll be alright." he told Tana, who looked sadly at the two. "My name's Vateli, and this is Adira."

Tana nodded and stepped towards Akido for a closer look at the young lion's shoulder. "That needs cleaning." He said bluntly. "You should come with me to get that taken care of."

Akido blinked. He had completely forgotten about his wounded shoulder. Blood was still flowing out and it looked quite painful. He was still perplexed by how it was so easy for him to ignore it. "Okay, just give me a minute."

He returned his attention to Adira who had stopped crying. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She looked at him with a mix of appreciation and embarrassment as she recovered herself. "Uh… yea, I'm okay now." She said in a small voice. "Thanks Vateli."

Akido smiled and nodded. He turned back to Tana. "Alright, let's go."

The cheetah turned and started to climb the sides of the stone. He helped the two young lions scale the sheer edge; it proved to be even more difficult than Akido had anticipated. Most of the rock wasn't really rock, just dried mud that crumbled under any weight. They made slow progress, but reached the top within a few minutes. Once back in the savannah, Akido located the now distant Priderock. Their chase had put them much farther away than he had originally thought.

Tana guided them down a small trail towards a small grove of trees next to a river. Akido assumed that this was the home of the cheetahs. Memories of his father's descriptions of the cats' home fit the current picture well. The shade provided by the lush trees was much appreciated by the exhausted lions. Cheetahs lay in the cool shade and observed their passing. Tana walked toward a larger male that sat surrounded by several others.

"Father, we have a problem." Tana told the cheetah while bowing.

The large cat stood and walked over to the outsiders. "What is it?" he asked, eyeing Akido's shoulder with apprehension.

Tana looked at the ground. "These two lions were being attacked by one of Nuru's leopards… and I kind of… killed it."

"What?" cried the cheetah. "Why did you kill it?"

Tana looked ashamed. "He was trying to kill me… I didn't have a choice."

Tana's father sighed and looked up at the ceiling of leaves. "Alright, where did it happen?"

"At the end of the dried riverbed."

The large cheetah nodded to another cat to his side and the cat left with several others toward the dried bed. He looked back to Akido and Adira. "Well I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but I'm Hatola. We're glad to have you here"

Akido tried to smile, but he just couldn't do it. "Thanks. I'm Vateli, and this is Adira."

Adira found her voice in time to be polite. "It's nice to meet you." She told Hatola.

The cheetah leader looked Akido over. "You're Kovu's son aren't you?"

Akido blinked, this was unexpected. "Um… yea, I am."

Hatola nodded. "I used to be good friends with him… until Nuru wounded him. I wish I could see him again, but he can't make the trip anymore, and I can't go to Priderock safely with Nuru as king."

"Well, I'll tell him that you said hello."

Hatola smiled. "I'd appreciate that, but for now let's get you cleaned up."

Akido and Adira followed Hatola and Tana to the riverside. Their shaman was waiting for them with multiple types of salves and herbs. The water felt fantastic on Akido's body. Dried blood washed off his fur and his wounds were cleansed. The cheetah Shaman dressed his shoulder with special leaves.

"This is quite a nasty gash." She told him. "I'm surprised that you aren't in more pain."

Her comment made Akido think about the phenomenon again. _Why didn't he feel pain?_ But that wasn't right, it wasn't even that he couldn't feel it, just that he ignored it. Suddenly it hit him. Compared to the agony that he experienced in death, the gash on his shoulder was nothing. He knew what _real_ pain was, and if it wasn't that _real _pain, it didn't bother him. He shrugged. Just another unexpected benefit of having died.

Once bandaged up, Tana lead them to a rock formation with a small overhang. They laid down to wait for the cheetahs that Hatola sent out. The cool rock was wet with condensation, and it dripped sporadically upon the relaxing friends.

"So where did you learn to fight like that?" asked Akido to Tana.

The cheetah rolled over so he could see the young lion. "My dad taught me. He knew that when Nuru took over we each might have to fight, so he taught us all. Don't you have someone to teach you at priderock?"

Akido's expression fell. We could probably find someone, but if Nuru found out what we were doing, he would probably kill us… especially me."'

"It's just too dangerous," explained Adira. "We don't want to lose anyone…"

"Hey," Akido exclaimed. "Maybe you could teach me!"

Adira frowned. "Vateli…"

"No, really, think about it! He insisted. "Nuru would never find out if I came all the way out here to learn, and I would have great cover with my dad knowing your dad!"

Tana nodded. "If you really want to learn, I will teach you. But don't put my family in danger."

The warning was clear and Akido understood. Nuru wouldn't look too kindly on cheetahs that taught lions how to fight. "I understand. I promise that no one will ever find out." He looked to Adira. She looked uncomfortable, but accepting.

The cheetahs that Hatola had sent out soon returned. Akido watched them report back to their leader.

"We took care of the body sir." reported the first cat.

Hatola nodded. "Good, it's not going to be found any time soon?"

"No sir," answered the second. "Even if it is found, it looks like he just made a misstep over a cliff."

"Thank you. You're dismissed." The two cats turned and walked away, returning to their earlier activities. Hatola approached the friends under the overhang.

"Well it looks like you're all set." He told them. "I have a tough time seeing how Nuru could trace this back to any of you."

Akido was relieved, and from the looks on Adira and Tana, so were they. "Thank you." He told the Cheetah. "We would have been in some serious trouble without you."

Adira continued his thought. "Yea, thanks for everything. We should get going though, it'll be dark soon."

Hatola smiled and nodded. "Would you like an escort back, or do you think you'll be alright?"

Adira spoke before Akido could answer. "We'll be fine. It's a pretty simple route."

"Remember to tell your father I said hello." reminded the cheetah.

"No problem," he looked at Tana. "Maybe I'll come back sometime soon with a message from him…"

"That would be nice; I'd love to hear from him again."

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

After the young lions bid farewell to the cheetahs, they headed off across the savannah. The sun was sinking in the sky, but Akido figured that they had a few more hours of daylight. Adira didn't talk. She just stared at the ground as she passed over it, lost in thought. The prince was curious of what was on her mind, but he knew better than to ask. She would tell him on her own time, prying would only make her more withdrawn.

They were almost halfway home when she spoke up. "Vateli?" she asked.

"Yea?"

"About today… when the leopard attacked us… I'm sorry."

"What?" He was surprised by her statement.

"I just _froze_… I- I just couldn't stop thinking of… of Akido."

"Don't be like that." He told her. "You were fine, nothing bad happened because you froze."

Adira shook her head. "I know… but something _could_ have, and it would have been my fault!" She looked up at him. _"It's my fault Akido died!_" she blurted.

The young lion blinked_. What was it with everyone taking blame for his death?_ "No it wasn't!" he insisted. "Zira and Nuru did it! Not you!"

Adira stopped for a moment, surprised at the force of his sentence. "I still could have done more to stop it..." tears started to fall again.

Akido sighed and put his paw around her. There was nothing he could do about others taking blame for his death. He could only comfort them and hope that they would eventually forgive themselves of their nonexistent crime. Maybe he would talk to Simba about it when he saw him again.

They walked together in silence, as there was little more to say on the issue. The sun sank below the horizon just as the two approached Priderock. It took little time for them to find Kovu and Kiara who, needless to say, were worried out of their minds. After a quick explanation of the day's events, minus the leopard, they seemed satisfied. The mention of Hatola brightened Kovu's mood and set off a new conversation about the condition of the cheetahs. When his mother asked about the injury on his shoulder, Akido lied and said he fell onto a sharp rock, and that was how he had met Hatola. Adira didn't seem to like the deception, but she went along with her friend.

That night, the stars were brightly lit. Akido sat on the edge of Priderock with his father. They didn't speak, but there was a clear feeling of content. Akido knew that Kovu looked at the stars with remorse, but there was something else as well. The former king looked with a small amount of hope. Hope for what, Akido didn't know, but it was definitely hope. Maybe he hoped to see his lost son again, or maybe it was hope for his still living family. The young lion couldn't figure it out, but he was happy that his father was not as downhearted as he once was.

*****Author's Note*****

**Not much to say this time, other than it is friken hot here in CNY and I have nothing better to do than sit in my air-conditioned room and write for you all. I hope that the whole Akido/Vateli name changing isn't too difficult to follow. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing!**

**-Ben**


	6. Chapter 6: Troubles

*****Chapter 6*****

*****Troubles*****

Akido sat on the peak of Priderock. The red sun had only just begun to rise over the savannah. The young lion's short, but growing mane rustled in the cool morning breeze. He closed his eyes. It always felt so good to be up there, away from everything and anything frustrating. He was himself, not Vateli, but Akido. The view was stunning; the golden grasslands were bathed in the brilliance of the young morning and the animals seemed to wake in unison. Though he always appreciated a nice sunrise, Akido wasn't there for the view.

"Grandpa…" he called to the wind. He was answered by only another gust of wind. "Come on Grandpa, I know you're there. I want to talk to you!"

Patience, patience, Akido. It takes a minute to get down here." Simba stood smiling behind the young lion. "What do you want to talk about?"

Akido smiled at the great lion. "Well for starters," he began sarcastically, "I just wanted to thank you for your help with the leopard the other day."

"It may not have seemed like I was helping, but I was there."

"How?" asked Akido skeptically.

Simba smiled. "Cheetahs are very curious animals. A snapped twig here and a rustle in the bushes over there does a great job at pulling them to where you want them to go."

Akdo stared, mouth agape. "So _you_ sent Tana to help us? Without him even knowing?"

"Yep. Like I said, they are a very curious species."

"Huh." Akido was surprised. He thought Simba had just left them for leopard chow; the new information made him feel guilty. "Sorry I doubted you…" he apologized.

"Don't worry about it. But I think there's something else on your mind?"

Akido sighed. Simba had hit the nail on the head; the leopard incident was just small talk. "I'm going to see Tana today to start learning how to fight…"

"You're worried?"asked Simba.

Akido averted his gaze to the ground. "I don't know… should I be?"

"Well, Akido…what you're doing _is_ very dangerous… even if it is necessary." Simba looked down at the young lion. "Don't be worried, just be careful. There are a lot of people counting on you, even if they don't know it yet."

Akido nodded. "Speaking of other people… how much longer do I have to keep lying to everyone?"

Simba frowned. "There aren't any rules about what you tell everyone else…"

"So I can tell them?" Akido interrupted excitedly.

"I didn't say that…" continued Simba. There aren't any rules, but you need to use your better judgment. A lot of the pride would not be able to handle the truth, they wouldn't believe you and you're overall mission might be compromised."

"Right, right, right." sighed Akido sullenly. "Bring back the balance and all that stuff."

"I know that it's a difficult task Akido, but everyone's counting on you. One small mistake, like telling the wrong person, could have serious consequences."

Akido knew that his grandfather was right, but it was still annoying. All the deception was really starting to get to him. "Alright… I'll be careful. Thanks Grandpa." He looked up at the smiling great lion. He hugged his deceased loved one a final time before he disappeared into the wind. "_Thanks_…" he whispered in a small voice.

He descended the slope of the great stone toward the main cave. He was deep in thought when he quite literally 'ran' into Adira. The two went sprawling across the dirt in a mangled mess and Akido began to laugh. He looked over and was surprised to see the lioness glaring angrily at him.

"Would you get off?" she demanded crossly.

Akido blinked. Adira wasn't usually this irritable. "Uh… yea, sure." He untangled himself from her and rose to his feet. "Sorry…"

Adira frowned at him. "Just be more careful." she replied before walking away.

The young lion fell into step alongside her. "I said I was sorry… Is something wrong?"

She sighed. "No… It's not you Vateli, it's just… never mind."

"What?"

"It's nothing! Now leave me alone!" Adira increased her speed and left Akido behind.

He only stared as he watched her leave. There was definitely something wrong, but he had no idea as to what it could possibly be. He shrugged. As much as he wanted to be there for his friend, if she didn't want him to help, there was little he could do. Akido shook his head in confusion and headed off towards the cheetahs' grove to begin his training.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

"DODGE!" came the expected demand from Akido's attacker.

The young lion ducked down in just enough time to avoid a flying paw to his face. He tried to roll to the side in an effort to get around the swift cheetah, but ended up just falling across the dirt. He looked up at Tana. "How was that?"

Tana shook his head. "Needs more practice. Let's go over the drill again."

Akido stood and followed the cheetah back to the center of the clearing. He took up his newly learned combat stance and mentally readied himself for the commands.

Tana sat on a boulder not too far away. "SWIPE! LUNGE! DODGE! LUNGE! SWIPE!"

Akido performed the movements as Tana called them, imagining he was fighting a leopard.

"Alright, that was better." Called Tana, jumping down from the rock. "But you're still pulling your strikes. Once you hit, follow _through_ and continue _past_ your target. It'll give you more power."

Akido nodded and got back in his stance. "I'm ready."

Tana returned to his perch and called out another series. The young lion performed them well and continued to improve throughout the morning. Tana made him do all sorts of things; drills, sparring, and even attacking tree trunks. By midday, Akido was exhausted and Tana was starting to get a little winded himself.

"I think we'll end with that for today." Tana said after a short sparring match. "When do you think you will be back?"

"I… think… I can… be back tomorrow…" replied Akido through ragged gasps for air. He threw himself into the shade of a nearby tree.

Tana smiled. "Well I'll see you then. I trust that you can get home alright?"

"Yea… just give me a few minutes… to catch my breath.

Despite the pain he was in from Tana's training, Akido made it home alright, albeit at a slower pace than usual. He felt good, like he was accomplishing something. This was the next step towards facing Nuru and Akido was glad to be taking it. He went back the next day, just as he had promised. The workout was again devastating to his body, as was the next day's and the next day's. Though he soon tired of the training, he stuck with it. He felt himself grow stronger, faster, and better able to take Tana's punishment. Akido was also quite proud of his cover story; since he relayed messages back and forth from Kovu and Hatola, no one suspected that anything was out of the ordinary was occurring. That is, as long as the young lion was careful to hide his exhaustion and bruises, which wasn't too difficult. He still spent a decent amount of time with Adira, but her irritableness had remained constant, a trait he attributed to her own training. It was only a few short months before her first hunt, and her mother was teaching her everything that she needed to know. Life was continuing, and Akido was starting to get anxious. The time was drawing closer to when he would have to act.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

"Hey Dad." Akido greeted one afternoon.

Kovu nodded in response. "Hello Vateli. What did Hatola say?"

"He said that if he wanted get rid of me, he would have done it already." Kovu chuckled. "On a more serious note, he wanted to know what Rafiki has been saying about the rainy season."

The former king nodded. "Alright… let me find out, I'll get back to you before you leave again." Akido turned to leave but Kovu stopped him. "Vateli… I really appreciate that you're doing this. Thank you."

The young lion smiled. "I love doing it. It gets me out of the cave." With that, he trotted off down the slope toward the field where Adira was likely practicing. The day was warm, but not quite as brutally hot as it had been. In comparison, it was a bit refreshing. Akido filled his lungs with the warm air and smiled. It was good to be alive.

Quiet voices to his left made him stop. He slowly walked around the boulders that surrounded the base of Priderock, careful to not make any noise. Under a small overhang, he saw his mother sitting in the shade with Adira.

Adira stared at the ground. "I just can't stop thinking about it…"

"I know it's difficult." Kiara placed her paw around Adira. "It's been almost a year and it still hurts just as much."

Akido sighed silently. They were talking about him. He wanted to turn away and respect their privacy, but he just couldn't seem to do it.

Adira looked up at the older lioness. "It'll be _exactly _one year tomorrow."

He blinked. _Was it really_? It fit. Tomorrow was the anniversary of his death and the crowning of Nuru as king. He shook his head; that was why Adira had been irritable, she was thinking about the event.

Adira continued. "Do you ever think about if you could have done something different to change how it all turned out?"

Kiara smiled sadly at the younger lioness. "I used to… but I've come to accept it for what it was. I'm just glad that he died painlessly, that he didn't even know what happened."

_What? _Akido stared, mouth agape at the two lionesses. He didn't die _painlessly_! It was the most agonizing thing that anyone could ever experience! His eyes were gouged out! His legs were broken and torn apart while he was still screaming! He looked at Adira. She had been there, she had witnessed it. How could she believe that he had died painlessly? One look at the young lioness told him the answer. _She didn't_.

Adira looked at the ground uncomfortably. "Yea… it was so quick…"

_She was lying!_ Akido just stared at the young lioness in utter amazement. Adira was always so truthful, so honest! It seemed completely out of character for her to be blatantly lying to his mother. He thought about it; it did make sense. His parents were already grief-stricken with his death; there was no reason for her to go into the gory details of the violence. It was better for everyone else to think that he had gone quickly and quietly. He smiled sadly and turned back towards the main cave, leaving the two lionesses. Adira carried such a burden on her shoulders, she was so strong. How difficult it must be to lie so deliberately about something so painful. He at least knew that everything was alright, though it pained him to keep his family in the dark. Adira knew that the truth was _worse_ than what everyone believed, and she had to deal with her suffering _alone_ without any support. He shook his head. What should he do about this?

*****Author's Note*****

**Well, I'm keeping the story moving right along. I want to thank all of you who have read and commented; the story currently has the same number of reviews as my first story, "Nala's Brother". If you haven't read it, please do; it may be complete, but I still love to get feedback on it. I'm curious about your opinions; which do you like better and why?**

**-Ben**


	7. Chapter 7: Anniversary

*****Chapter 7*****

*****Anniversary*****

Akido woke early and went outside. He climbed a large boulder and observed the ledge of the great rock from a relatively hidden position. He enjoyed sitting there and watching the pride wake. It also gave him some time to think. Adira's words rang in his head. _Anniversary._ It had been exactly one year since he had died, one year since he was brutally murdered by Nuru. _Speaking of which_… Akido watched the large gray beast emerge from the cave, surrounded by an entourage of leopards. He felt anger boil inside of him for everything the monster had done to his family.He watched the lion slink down the path to the ground. An early rising lioness approached the king and began to speak. Akido couldn't hear what she was saying due to the rather far distance, but it was clear that she was a bit agitated. Nuru just stared at the lioness for several moments, waiting for her to finish her rant. She finished on her own time, and looked quite proud… that is, until the gray lion's paw connected with her face. The sheer weight of the strike sent her to the ground and Nuru bent down to whisper what was surely a threat into her ear. The humiliated lioness waited for the king and his leopards to leave before she stood and returned back to the main cave with her head held low. Akido just stared in shock; Nuru was just a terrible individual. _How could a King treat his followers so poorly_? He remembered what his father had told him about the responsibilities of those in power; that it was their duty to keep the balance and maintain the circle of life. Nuru was created a massive imbalance in the social structure of the Pridelands; the land and food chain itself may have been alright, but the animals lived in fear of the king and his leopards. There was a reason why Hatola wouldn't visit the pride.

Akido's anger festered for a while as he sat on the boulder overlooking the entrance to the main cave, but he soon let go of the hate as more of the pride awoke and wandered out of the dark cave into the brightening day. He found it amusing to see the difference between those lionesses who were "_morning people_", and those who were _not_. Soon, most of the pride had woken and embraced consciousness, and Akido got ready to leave is perch. But before he could leave, a familiar face exited the cave. Adira exited slowly, even cautiously. She looked around for any other lions before moving at a quick pace away from Priderock. Akido watched her head off in a strange direction; there was nothing that way. Not the waterhole, or the hunting grounds, or the forest, or anything. _Where was she going?_ The question perplexed him, and he decided to follow the lioness. He leapt from his rock and took up a brisk pace in the same direction.

It was rather easy for him to follow Adira's trail; the dew from the night before had not yet evaporated in the morning heat, so the untouched grass kept its sparkling texture. Adira's trail was clear due to the lack of droplets. He walked quickly for some time, still unsure as to where she was going. The trail lead through grassland, nothing special. He passed a tree here, a boulder there, but nothing unique. He figured that the only way that Adira could possibly know where she was going, is if she had traveled the route several times before. Well, he figured, he would find out soon enough where she was going.

The trail he followed cut closely to a ledge, and at the bottom Akido could clearly see the massive skeletons of the elephant graveyard. He stared at the bones; they were a chilling sight, and more importantly, they reminded him of something. He looked down the trail that he still had yet to travel, and saw that it led to a large stone structure, dotted with caves, on the edge of the boneyard. It came back to him in an instant. _This was where Zira and Nuru had taken them; where he was murdered._ His knees started to shake from the fear that he associated with the place. He wanted to turn back and go home, but he couldn't. Adira was in the cave, he needed to see her.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

The young lion stepped over splintered bones and dead plants as he approached the caves. It had been a long time and he stood much taller than he had before, but he still clearly remembered where they had been taken. Akido climbed several stones to reach the mouth of the cave that instantly plummeted at a downward angle into a larger cavern. He was careful not to make a sound, he probably didn't need to, but the cave radiated a chilling mood that called for silence.

He entered the dimly lit room and looked around silently. The first thing he saw was Adira. She sat to the side, head hung low. The next thing he saw was the corner where they were kept together, in the time before he had been killed. Then he looked to the center of the room, marked by a small indentation in the floor; the place where he had been murdered. Akido took a step forward towards the indentation. A dry twig snapped under his paw and Adira looked up at him sharply.

"_Vateli_?" she asked in a surprised tone. "What are you doing here?" Her initial shock soon gave way to anger. "You shouldn't be here! This is _our_ place!"

Akido looked back to the indentation where he had been killed. Memories and emotions filled his head. _Fear. Helplessness. Darkness._ He continued forward to the corner where they were held as if in a trance, vaguely aware that Adira was still yelling at him. He approached the spot and stared at the floor. Though it had been a year, the cave had remained unchanged. The wind could not penetrate the entrance, so the dust that Akido had walked on was still there. The young lion stared at small paw-prints that he knew to be his own, to those that he knew to be Adira's, surrounded by the much larger leopard tracks. He placed his paw over one of his small prints and pressed his new mark into the dust and replacing the old one. Akido looked to where the tracks led, to the indentation in the center of the room. He followed the markings and reached the spot where he had been killed. The cave was like a time capsule; nothing had changed. The signs of a struggle were clear; the dust was disturbed in erratic patterns and many footprints lay about the scene. But the most chilling evidence of the event was the dark stain that penetrated the dust and even the stone. Akido stared in shock at the sight of his own blood from his previous life.

The traumatized lion noticed two large sets of footprints that lay only a short distance away. They were significantly larger than those of the leopards. _Zira and Nuru._ He felt his self pity give way to anger. Anger for everything the two evil lions had done to him, to his family and to the Pridelands. He roared in rage, the yell echoing off the walls of the cave. He struck out with all his fury at a nearby stalagmite. The stone shattered under the force of the blow and bits of stone went rolling across the floor of the cave. Akido stood there, staring at the destroyed column. His breathing gradually slowed and his muscles relaxed. A single tear fell from his eyes and wetted the already stained dust.

"Vateli?" It was Adira.

"_What_?" he replied quietly.

"I'm sorry." She said sadly, walking over to his side. "He was _your_ brother… you deserve to be here as much as I do." She nuzzled the young lion under his chin. "Today is the one year-"

"-Anniversary… I know." He pulled away, not because he didn't appreciate her affection, but because he couldn't stand to lie anymore. He couldn't go on like this. He was tired. Something had to change.

"What is it?" She asked, confused at his action. "Talk to me."

It took him a few moments to respond. "Adira?"

"Yea?"

"Have you… have you ever lied to people that you care about in order to protect them?"

The lioness smiled faintly. "I've been lying a lot lately to protect you."

Akido shook his head and turned to face her. "I mean a big lie; something that would change _everything_ if people knew the truth."

Adira was silent for a while. She finally answered in a small voice. "_Yes_."

He knew that she was thinking of how she lied about the violence of his death, so he didn't push the issue. "So have I…" he said in a near whisper. "I've been lying to you… to my parents… to everyone."

Adira looked at him quizzically. "For how long?"

"Ever since I was born."

Adira was clearly confused. "What could you possibly have been lying about for your entire life?"

Akido took a deep breath. This was it; the moment of truth. He had envisioned it since the day he was born, but now it just seemed crazy. Would she believe him? There was only one way to find out for sure. "I'm not who you think I am… I'm not Vateli."

"What do you mean you aren't Vateli?"

"I mean that my parents _named_ me Vateli, but I had a different name before that."

"Oh really." She replied skeptically. "And what were you called before you were Vateli?"

"Akido."

Adira's half- smile vanished from her face and she stared at him. "That's not funny, Vateli." She said coldly.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" he said with a solid expression. "I _am_ Akido."

"How dare you!" she cried. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you, and you just want to mock me!"

"You aren't listening to me, Adira! This isn't a joke! There's no game!"

"AKIDO IS DEAD! AND _YOU_ ARE A TERRIBLE PERSON FOR DOING THIS!" The lioness turned and started to leave.

Akido stared for a moment. He had failed… she didn't believe him… _No_. He refused to give up. He ran after the departing lioness cut her off before she could exit the cave. "I was Akido, and I _did_ die. The kings sent me back to fix the balance!" She just stared angrily at him for a moment before pushing aggressively past him. "I KNOW YOUR LIE!" he yelled in a last ditch attempt.

Adira froze. "_What_?" she asked quietly, turning back to face the young lion.

Akido could have smiled, though he didn't; he had gotten her to stop. "You said you had a lie that would change everything if people knew the truth… I know the truth, because I lived it."

She took a step towards him. "There's no way that you could know what I know." she said in a dangerous tone.

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I know that it was a horrible death, not a quick, painless one like you told everyone."

"That doesn't prove anything…" she muttered.

"I know that we were kept prisoner over there!" he declared, gesturing to the corner. "And that I was taken out to the center where they blinded me, broke my bones, and ripped out my throat while you were held down by a leopard!"

Adira stared at him. "I never told anyone about that… how do you know that?"

"I _am _Akido!" he insisted again. "Why won't you believe me?"

"Because it's crazy! It isn't POSSIBLE!"

Akido was getting frustrated. "Why not? What's so farfetched about it?"

Adira glared at him. Well for starters, where's Simba? If you came back, why didn't he?"

He sighed. "They could only send back one person to counter Shetani's interference. They chose me because I was young, _and_ because I was the prince."

Adira shook her head. "Vateli… this had gone far enough."

Akido scrambled in his mind for more proof. "I can tell you what we were talking about the day I died!"

She looked at him. "Go ahead."

He searched his memories. The day had been burned into his mind, but it had still been a year. "Ummm… The day started when I pushed you into the mud, then you got me all muddy. Then our mom's cleaned us off. We were still in trouble for messing with the rhinos… and I said that when I was king, I would let you be the leader of the hunting party."

She stared at him for a long while before she spoke again. "I don't know what to think."

"Please." He begged. "I can't live a lie anymore… I _need_ you to believe me."

"It doesn't make sense… if you _are_ Akido, why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

"I wanted to… but no one would have believed me. You _still_ don't even believe me!"

Adira just stared at him. "But… how… I don't…" She shook her head in confusion and gazed at the dusty floor. Tears began to fall from her eyes, dripping to the floor. Akido couldn't tell if this was a good sign or a bad sign. Her eyes soon told him that it was, in fact a good sign. Adira raised her head and smiled at the young lion, finally recognizing him as her deceased friend. "It really is you… I missed you so much… Akido."

Her words filled him with happiness. _She believed him!_ Akido took a step forward and nuzzled her cheek. Adira returned the affection and the two sat in the darkness, enjoying the bliss they found in each other's company.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

"So… what was it like?" the lioness asked to Akido.

Akido smiled. The warm afternoon breeze ruffled his growing mane and filled his lungs. "It was beautiful. The land was perfect; it made the Pridelands look like the elephant graveyard." Adira raised her eyebrows at the comparison. "But the really great part," Akido continued, "was that everyone was there."

"What do you mean, _everyone_?"

"I mean everyone who you ever had any connection to." He explained. "I saw my grandpa, my great-grandpa, my uncle, everyone!"

Adira looked up at the clear-blue sky. "Wow. So you can see them, but none of the rest of us can?"

Akido blinked. All of Adira's questions made him realize how little he really knew about the whole after-life thing. "I don't really know, to be honest… I only talk to my grandpa when I'm completely alone because he won't show up otherwise. I think if he wanted you to see him, you could, but there are rules that he has to follow."

She snorted bitterly. "There are _always_ rules."

Akido chuckled. "Yea. There always are."

They walked along in silence for a while. The dew had fully evaporated off the grass, but Adira knew the route well. Besides, Priderock was now in sight, so it would be rather difficult to get lost. The lioness looked as though she wanted to aske another question, but for some reason she held back. As always, Akido did not pry. He waited for her to ask on her own time. The question came soon enough.

"So why are you back…" she asked in a small voice.

Akido sighed deeply at the question that he knew she would hate the answer to. "The kings sent me back to correct the balance."

"What does that mean?"

"Nuru created the imbalance… so as the kings put it, the two forces are eventually going to have to collide."

"What?" Adira exclaimed. "What do you mean collide? You don't actually intend to _fight_ Nuru, do you?"

Akido was quiet as he decided how to answer her question. "Adira… Nuru is a terrible king. He has no respect for the land, or for anyone else. I can't let him stay in power."

The lioness speed her pace and cut him off, preventing him from walking any farther. "I don't care how _bad_ he is, he'll kill you!"

"Not if I have my way." The young lion pushed past Adira, who only looked at him with amazement.

"I don't think you get it!" she said, falling into step alongside him. Nuru is massive and ridiculously powerful! He killed Simba without any trouble, and he'll do the same to you!"

"I'm getting training." Akido replied concisely.

"What, with Tana? Not that he isn't a great fighter Akido, but he only barely beat that leopard. And that was just _one_ leopard! There's a reason that they follow Nuru, he's stronger!"

Akido just stared at the ground. She was right, though it pained him to admit it. How was he, still a mere juvenile, supposed to beat this devil-empowered beast of a lion? It was a very difficult task, and for the first time he was beginning to feel doubtful. "This isn't about me, Adira."

"THIS IS COMPLETELY ABOUT YOU!" Adira yelled at him. Akido was shocked speechless at her outburst. Upon a closer analysis, he realized that she was close to tears. She seemed embarrassed from her outburst, and she lowered her eyes. "I just don't want to lose you again…" she said in a small voice.

Akido sighed and placed his paw around her shoulder. "Hey, come on. I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon."

She looked up at him. "I know… just please be careful."

He smiled, "I always am."

Adira snorted at his fake arrogance and pushed him into the grass. Akido went rolling a short distance down the side of the hill before he stopped his momentum. He looked up at the lioness who was now laughing at him from the trail.

He growled playfully and leapt at her. She screamed in feigned surprise and took off down the trail towards Priderock with her newly returned friend at her heels.

*****Author's Note*****

**I had a ton of fun writing this chapter. It took me quite a while to decide how I wanted the whole thing to play out, but I really like how it all came together. Not much more to say, other than to Review and Comment!**

**-Ben**


	8. Chapter 8: Relinquishment

*****Chapter 8*****

*****Relinquishment*****

Akido was happy. For the first time in a long while, he was able to be himself around Adira. He didn't have to lie, he didn't have to deceive. She hadn't warmed up to him right away, of course. It had been a rather awkward time after the truth had been told, and she struggled for a while with the change, but eventually she had come through. Akido smiled at how everything had turned out so well and closed his eyes to savor the feeling.

"WHAM!" a solid blow to the side of his head sent the young lion sprawling across the ground. Akido shook away his disorientation and looked up at Tana who was standing only a short ways away. "OW!" he protested.

"Is there something on your mind, Vateli?" the cheetah asked nonchalantly, as if he _hadn't_ just smacked the lion to kingdom come. "You seem distracted."

"I'm _fine_…" replied Akido, rising to his feet. "You've got my full attention now!" With that, he lunged at his teacher and resumed the sparring match that he had zoned out of. Akido was still growing at a rapid rate; he was now about the size of his teacher and was much more powerful as a result. Though Tana still had much more skill than him, Akido felt himself improving. He blocked more of the cheetah's strikes and landed more of his own. He felt his speed increase along with his endurance and in just few short weeks he was now fighting at an even level with Tana. The day ended as it usually did and he headed home.

Though everything was seemingly in place, Adira's doubtfulness kept nagging at the back of Akido's mind. The more he thought about it, the more he knew she was right. It burned a whole right through his near-perfect world because the fact of the matter was that it _wasn't_ a perfect world. Yes, _his_ family was doing alright, but so many others were suffering at the hand of Nuru. It was a difficult dilemma that pestered his mind all the way back to Priderock.

Akido entered an isolated cave and laid himself down on a large flat rock. He didn't want to be bothered right now; he was tired. It was nice to just be alone… in the darkness. The lion closed his eyes…

"There you are!" Akido's eyes shot open at the voice. "I was looking all over for you, Va- I mean… Akido."

"Hey Adira…"he greeted neutrally, rolling onto his side to face her.

The lioness walked over to his rock and sat down next to it. "What are you doing in here?"

"I don't know…"he answered honestly. "I just needed to get away from everything for a while."

She looked at him strangely. "You're thinking about Nuru?"

Akido sighed and rolled onto his back.

"Akido… you don't have to do this. No one, not even the kings, would blame you for backing out."

"I was sent back for a reason…" he muttered. "…I can't just _ignore_ my responsibilities."

"What about your family?" she asked.

"Please, Adira… Don't play that card." He said quietly.

"Fine." She conceded. "I won't push it anymore. But please, Akido… just remember that there are a lot of us that really care about you."

Akido looked into her eyes and smiled. He loved it when she said stuff like that; it made all his troubles of the world just melt away. "I won't forget."

Adira returned his smile and turned to leave. Akido watched her depart, but felt suddenly regretful.

"Wait!" he jumped from his rock and caught up to her.

"What?" she asked him.

"Want to go somewhere?"

She blinked. "Where?"

"Anywhere!" he answered.

Adira only looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why?"

Akido rolled his eyes. She was being difficult. "Just come on! I'm sick of worrying about this whole thing, and you need a break from your hunting practice!"

She grinned. "Alright... Got any ideas as to where you want to go?"

Akido smiled. "Remember that one thing we did a _looong_ time ago… with the rhinos?"

The lioness giggled in anticipation and led the way out of the cave.

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The duo slunk through the grass, careful not to make a sound. The group of very large rhinos hung around a small clump of shrubbery, clearly agitated by the heat. Akido smiled, _even better._ He looked to his side at Adira, she wore a grin that spanned her entire face.

The two crept slowly forward, making sure to stay hidden below the tops of the grasses. The animals were only a few yards ahead of them with their backs' turned; it was time to separate. Adira nodded to her friend, and she slunk off to the left towards a large male. Akido veered right and positioned himself behind an equally large female. He looked to Adira one final time and saw that she was trembling with anticipation. She smiled one final time before she began to silently mouth the countdown.

Akido read her lips. _Three… two… one…_ Both Akido and Adira brought their paws down simultaneously onto their respective rhino with a loud _SNAP_. The massive beasts looked up from their grazing and turned around angrily to see two lions sprinting away at top speed.

Akido and Adira were both breathing hard, but only from the adrenaline rush. They looked back together and saw the two rhinos following in close pursuit. Adira screamed, not from actual fright, but from the sheer excitement of the chase.

Despite the very real danger, Akido couldn't help but laugh. The last time they had done this was before he died. It was like being a cub again, and he loved it.

The two raced across the savannah, gradually outrunning the endurance- deficient rhinos. They stopped to catch their breath alongside a gently flowing river and lay in the shade of one of the many riverside trees. Akido slowly returned his breathing to normal and looked over at Adira. He took a step to stand up, but slipped on the loose dirt. He fell a short distance into the shallow waters and lay there for a minute, stunned at the event. He looked back up the slope to where Adira _should_ have been, but no one was there. A loud splash from behind made him turn. The lioness tackled him and the two went rolling across the river, sending water flying everywhere.

Eventually, the two became exhausted and resorted to just lying in the shallows, half of their bodies underwater. They looked at each other in silent contentment. Then, Adira did something that Akido did not expect. She licked his muzzle. He stared at her for a moment before fully realizing what had just happened. Sudden happiness filled him as he gazed at the beautiful lioness that was right in front of him. Akido was stunned that he had never seen it before. He smiled and licked her back.

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Lightning streaked the dark sky, illuminating the dimly lit cave. The boom of thunder made Akido wake from his sleep. The periodic flashes from the torrential storm revealed the sleeping pride that lay around him in silent, undisturbed slumber. He scanned his surroundings without really being aware of what he was doing. A rustle to his side made him look down to where Adira was sleeping. The lion blinked; he had forgotten that she had fallen asleep next to him.

Akido looked back at the rest of the pride; eventually resting his vision upon Nuru who slept in the far corner, surrounded by Zira and the leopards. He felt his emotions rise up again, but this time it was different. The anger and hatred that he usually felt was replaced with… something else. All his doubts returned in a wave of anxiety; _Nuru was too big… he was too small… there were too many leopards… would anyone even help him if Nuru started to win?_ Akido shook his head in distress.

"Akido…" he looked down to see Adira gazing up at him with half- open eyes. "Akido, don't do this to yourself. Not now."

Akido silently returned his vision to the great gray lion.

"Please… come back to sleep." she begged him.

Akido just stared into the darkness. More lightning illuminated the cave and sound of rain echoed off the cold stone walls. "No… There's something I need to take care of." he whispered. "I'll be back in a little bit." He turned and started towards the cave entrance, leaving Adira, alone in the darkness.

He stood for a moment with his eyes closed in the torrential rain, letting the clean water penetrate his fur and saturate his body. The cold liquid fully awakened him, and he set off at a fast pace up a familiar trail. The night was completely black except for the many streaks of lightening that tore through the African sky, and completely deafening from the torrential winds and rain that threatened to throw the young lion off the side of Priderock. Akido kept his body close to the ground and squinted his eyes to protect them from the harsh rain. With each revealing flash, he memorized the terrain hidden in the blackness of the night and stepped with faith onto the ground that he knew to be there. It took him some time, but he finally reached the peak of the great rock. He looked across the savannah that seemed to cringe from the massive storm.

"GRANDPA!" Akido yelled over the wind and thunder. "GRANDPA!"

"Akido!" came a reply from behind him. "What are you doing out here?" Simba was visibly upset. "This is incredibly dangerous, go back to the cave!"

"NO!" he replied. "I CAN'T DO THIS!"

Simba stared at his grandson. "Akido…" he started.

"NO GRANDPA! THIS WAS A BAD IDEA; I NEVER SHOULD HAVE COME BACK!"

"Akido, no one ever said this would be easy."

The young lion was livid. "IT'S MORE THAN _NOT EASY, _IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THIS, HUH? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BEAT NURU? I CAN'T!"

Simba just stared at the distraught lion. "I'm sorry Akido… I tried to keep you with us, but you _chose_ to return."

Akido hung his head. Hot tears mixed with the cold rain that ran down his face. Like it or not, he had _chosen_ to return. "I can't do this anymore Grandpa…" he murmured, barely audible over the torrents of rain. He looked up at the golden lion. "If I fight, I'll die; and if I die… I don't know if my family could recover. I can't put them through that again."

Simba sighed and looked across the fearsome battle that raged in the sky. "I know how you feel; sometimes it just seems better to ignore the problem. After all, it really isn't affecting you or your family all that much.

Akido nodded. "Isn't it enough that I made my family happy again?"

"I wish it was… There's an old saying from far away: _When f__aced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage."_

"What?" Akido cried. "I'm not afraid! I died once, and I'll do it again. I just don't my family to get hurt…"

Simba smiled sadly. "You _are_ afraid. Afraid for your family_… and for Adira_."

Akido looked up sharply. He didn't think that Simba knew about that, but then again, he _was_ looking after him.

"It's not bad to be afraid for them," continued his grandfather. "Your fears are rightly placed, but you need to see what is _right,_ and Nuru as king is _not _right."

Akido shook his head in confusion, water running into his eyes. "I'm sorry… but I _can't_ fight Nuru. There's no way to win… and no need to do it. He's left me alone, Gandpa; he's evil, but he doesn't bother us."

Simba exhaled a deep breath and ran his paw through a large puddle. He watched the water flow around his paw as rain pelted its surface and made the refection unclear. "I suppose you're right about that." he responded. "You have done a very good job at staying out of his way and he hasn't troubled your new life." The former king looked to the stars that were beginning to emerge from the violent clouds. "I won't try to convince you to fight him… but just know this Akido: Sooner or later, Nuru _will_ become a threat to you and your family. Don't be caught off guard."

Akido nodded, more to appease his grandfather than out of actual agreement. Nuru hadn't bothered him his entire life, why would he do it now? "Okay, Grandpa. I won't." With that, Akido hugged his grandfather and turned away. A smile spread across the young lion's face at the realization of his new situation. _He was free._

Simba watched his grandson depart from the receding storm and descend the trail by the new starlight. The great lion shook his head and sighed deeply.

Akido moved quickly down the path and found himself at the entrance of Priderock's main cave. He entered the dim cavern and wove through the sleeping bodies to find his place next to Adira.

"You're back…" she mumbled, half asleep. "Is… Is everything okay?"

"Shhhh," he quieted her. "Go back to sleep… And yes, everything is _great_."

Adira smiled contently as he lay down next to her. Their breathing quickly synchronized and Akido smiled before he drifted off to sleep. Now, he was truly in a perfect world. He had relinquished all of his impossible responsibilities that had burdened him for so long, and was finally at complete peace.

*****Author's Note*****

**Sorry this update took longer than usual, I was having some trouble deciding how to proceed, but I sat down last night with my notebook and figured it all out. Well, **_**most**_** of it anyways. In any case, I know how it's all going to come together and now I just need to find the time to sit down and type it all up. A special thanks to Seth, AKA Gamer Geek for the promotion he gave me in his story, "A Bet for the Ages." I'll finish as I always do, with my usual demands: Review and Comment!**

**-Ben**


	9. Chapter 9: A Perfect Life

*****Chapter 9*****

****A Perfect Life*****

Akido and Adira stared in amazement at what was once one of the largest trees in the Pridelands, now reduced to a pile of charred and splintered wood that spanned an area of almost fifty yards.

"Wow." The lioness muttered to herself. "I guess the lightning got it…"

Akido nodded slowly. "Yea… It was a big storm." He looked out at the savannah; the storm, though horribly violent, brought needed rain to the lands. The grass was a much darker shade of green and the rivers flowed vigorously down their predetermined routes.

Adira was still looking at the shattered tree when she spoke again. "Speaking of last night, where exactly did you go again?"

Akido shrugged. "I needed to talk to my grandpa." He replied concisely. "We talked for a while on the peak."

She gave him a weird look. "Wait… What?" She walked over to where he stood. "You went to the _peak_ of Priderock in that _tempest?_ To _talk_? Are you crazy?"

Akido smiled and shrugged again. "What can I say? I needed to talk to him."

"Why the peak? You could have been blown off like a leaf! He couldn't come down to the cave?"

Akido blinked. Now that he thought about it, it really wasn't necessary to go to the peak of the great rock; he just needed to be alone to talk to his grandfather. "I don't know… That's just where we've always talked; it would be weird to go anywhere else."

"You're lucky that you didn't end up like this tree." she snorted as she looked back to the pile of splintered wood. "I just hope that you two had a nice meaningful chat up there in the middle of the storm."

"We did." Akido took a deep breath before dropping the bomb. "I told him that I can't do it."

Adira whirled around to look at the lion. "What?" she asked in surprise.

"Yea. I told grandpa that I can't win against Nuru, and that I wasn't going to try."

She only stared at him incredulously. "What did _he_ say?"

"Well, he didn't like it… but he said that he wouldn't force me. So I guess that means I'm off the hook!" Akido smiled, but was thrown off guard by the flying lioness that buried him under her weight.

"Thank you Akido." she said in between licks. "This means a lot to me."

The lion smiled at her affection and leaned up to lick her back. "I already died once; I don't see any reason to put you all through me dying a second time."

"Again… thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you." Adira's voice and smile made his heart soar.

"I couldn't live without you either." He replied in a daze.

The two lions rose from the ground and began the short trek back through the lush savannah towards priderock. A warm breeze ruffled their fur and livened the morning atmosphere. They walked in silent contentment for a while, but something eventually came up.

"Sooooo… when are you going to tell your parents?" Adira asked him.

Akido sighed at the thought. "I don't know, Adira. I just don't know how I could convince them."

"You convinced _me_ pretty easily!" she protested.

"I experienced things with you that no one else did, and it made it easier to explain. My parents… I don't know. I've got fewer things that I can use to prove it."

She nodded. "I guess. I just wish you would tell them."

"I wish I could _figure out a way_ to tell them." Akido smiled. If I had known ahead of time that I was going to die and be sent back, I would have made secret code words with everyone so I could prove who I was."

Adira laughed. "What would _our_ secret word be?"

"Rhinos."

Adira laughed and took off toward home, enticing Akido to chase her. Akido let out a burst of laughter and took off after her.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

The day had progressed and Akido attended his usual training with Tana. He didn't expect to ever need his fighting skills anymore, but he enjoyed practicing anyways. He looked across the dirt at his opponent who stood ready; waiting for the correct moment to strike. The cheetah's pupils dilated ever so slightly, giving Akido a warning of the immanent attack. Tana swung his paw at the readied lion, who dodged to the side. The strike flew harmlessly through the air while Akido lunged from the side at the cheetah. Tana collapsed his body under the lion's superior weight and rolled to throw him off. Akido went flying across the dirt, but quickly found his footing and dove back in for another attack. This time, he stayed tight to his opponent and the two rolled across the ground, growling aggressively as they went.

"WHUMP!" Akido stared in amazement at the cheetah that lay pinned to the ground under his paws. _He won!_

Tana smiled up at his student. "Good job, Vateli."

"Thanks… I _am_ getting to be a bit bigger than you."

"Well we are all very proud of your skill at being _heavy_, but I would appreciate it if you simply _got off of me!_"

Akido blinked. "Oh, right." He said as he removed his weight from the cheetah. "Sorry."

Tana smiled as he rose back to his feet. "It's fine, but I think we're done for today, it's getting late."

Akido looked up at sun, which to his surprise was halfway down its descent to the horizon. "Wow. This afternoon really flew by."

Tana nodded and led Akido out of the clearing and back towards the main area of the cheetahs' grove. "Oh, I almost forgot." Tana added. "My father wanted a word with you before you left."

The lion nodded and followed his friend to where Hatola was sitting. It made sense, he hadn't had a real conversation with Hatola in quite a while; he and Kovu had run out of messages for Akido to take.

"Ah, Vateli." Began the cheetahs' leader. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise."

"I just was hoping you could tell me how your pride was doing."

Akido smiled. "They're fine, it has been pretty quiet lately, except that Adira is going on her first hunt in a few days."

Hatola smiled. "Well good for her. Maybe with some new blood in the group you'll be able to satisfy the pride."

Akido was puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

Hatola seemed to be equally confused by Akido's response. "The food shortage… You've been having trouble feeding everyone…"

"What?" Something weird was going on. "There's no food shortage; we're eating fine!"

The cheetah leader looked to Tana for a moment, and the two shared a perplexed gaze. Hatola turned back to Akido before continuing. "Over the past few weeks, leopards have been visiting us and demanding food for your pride. They said that a tribute was needed to support the lions."

"What!" Akido exclaimed. "We don't need support, and neither do the leopards! They get plenty of food!"

Tana glared in the direction of Priderock. "Well, apparently they want _more_!"

Akido growled at the floor and paced around. "It figures." he started. "They're never satisfied. _Ever!"_

Hatola only sighed and stared at the dirt. "Unfortunately, we have little choice in the matter."

His son looked up sharply. "What do you mean? We can tell them that they can't just take our food!" protested Tana.

"It's not that simple." countered Hatola. "If we refuse, they _will_ use force, and we would_ not_ be able to withstand their attacks."

Tana was livid. "We can't just let them take whatever they want!"

"I am not about to risk my family's safety just for some extra scraps of meat!"

Tana growled angrily, but slunk off towards the stream in surrender.

Hatola watched him leave and turned back to Akido. "I apologize for that. Apparently things were not as they seemed."

The lion nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry too. I didn't know they were demanding _tribute!_"

The cheetah leader sighed again, this time more deeply. "Well I think I need to go continue my conversation with my son. Thank you for coming Vateli."

Akido bowed. "Always a pleasure." With that, he turned and departed towards Priderock.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Several days passed, and before he knew it, Adira was preparing to go on her first hunt. Akido trotted up a path to a rather isolated and infrequently used cave that was located close to the base of Priderock. He entered and quickly found the lioness in the corner, mentally preparing for the great event.

"Are you ready?" Akido asked Adira who was staring deep in thought at the blank cave wall.

She shivered with anticipation and nodded. "I just can't believe that today is finally the day. I've been dreaming about it for so long." Her expression suddenly darkened. "What if I mess up?"

Akido smiled and licked her on her cheek. "You'll do great, don't worry. "You've been training for your first hunt for months. You're ready."

The two nuzzled each other for a moment before Akido posed a question. "Adira?"

"Yes?"

"This may not be the best time, but you remember how I said that when I was king, I'd let you be the leader of the hunting party?"

She laughed and nodded. "Yes, I remember that."

"I know I'm not going to be king anymore, but if I was… _would you be my queen_?"

The lioness stared at him for a moment in silence, surprised at the question. Suddenly a wide grin broke across her face. "I would love to be your queen. I love you Akido. And this _wasn't_ a bad time to bring it up."

Her words stunned him, and for a moment he just stared at her with a stupid grin on his face. "I love you too, Adira."

The two smitten lions returned to their nuzzling, only to be cut off by a call from outside the cave. "Adira! Come on, it's time to go!"

She smiled and turned to him. "I should probably go meet up with the others…"

Akido nodded, "Yea, I'll see you when you get back." He watched his love leave, savoring the moments before her absence. The cave was dark and sullen without her presence, so Akido exited in the direction that she left. He stood at the mouth and gazed at the lionesses that had gathered for the morning hunt. Adira was standing with them, listening intently to the instructions.

A sharp hacking sound made the lion looked toward a nearby overhang. Zira sat under the stone shelter, coughing. She didn't look good, he decided. She had lost a lot of weight and now she had this cough that sounded like she was going expel a lung from her chest. Akido shrugged, he knew that it was wrong to wish pain upon someone, but Zira's suffering was nonetheless satisfying. Compared to what she and Nuru had put him through, Akido felt that she was getting off easy.

He returned his gaze to the departing lionesses and watched them proceed towards the nearby hills that were so full of game. Hatola's words came back to him; _food shortage!_ There was no food shortage, just a bunch of leopards that wanted to push their power and get more than what they deserved. Akido shook his head angrily and walked down a path to the ground. It made him angry, just as the sight of Nuru enraged him, but there was nothing he could do. He sighed deeply; it was annoying to not have any real goal in his new life, but also quite relieving. He didn't _need_ revenge, though he _would_ love it; it was much less stressful to ignore his enemies. Besides, he had Adira. As long as she was there, he felt like he could get over anything, _even his own brutal murder_.

Adira returned later that evening with her teammates. They had done well having caught two zebra, an antelope, and even a wildebeest. The new huntress was quite pleased with her performance, as was Akido. It made _him_ happy to see _her_ happy. And if they were _both_ happy, then as far as they were concerned, all was well in the world.

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

The days moved rapidly and melded into weeks. There were few events that caught the attention of the pridelanders, mainly because Nuru kept the actions of the Leopards rather well hidden. The sun rose, and then set; rains came and rains went. Life flowed in a simple cycle, and Akido was content with the order of things. He and Adira spent long afternoons together and sometimes their deep conversations even dragged long into the cool African nights. Time didn't seem to exist; Akido had no responsibilities or deadlines, nothing better to do than to be with his lover. Adira participated in the hunts which left Akido alone for long mornings. Usually he spent the time with visits to the cheetahs and training with Tana. Akido soon reached his full adult size and sparring matches with Tana became rather one-sided. Akido ceased to be Tana's student, and more his equal. The friends spent decent amounts of time coming up with new routines to sharpen lesser used skills, and soon Akido felt like he could take on any leopard. He still wasn't planning on doing anything, of course, but Akido enjoyed the training and the company of the cheetahs. _Everything was perfect._

Akido looked in the pool of water, admiring his full mane. It was weird, he decided. Throughout both of his lives, he always thought that when he grew up he would be doing something important. But now that he had fully grown, there was nothing for him to do. The lion took one last look at his reflection before heading off. It was definitely not what he had expected.

Akido trotted up the pathway to the peak of Priderock. It was going to be a while before Adira returned, and he hadn't spoken with his grandfather in quite some time. He reached the peak and looked out over the vast Savannah that his father had once promised to him. The scene capture his thoughts more than usual today. He sat patiently; he did not call for his grandfather as he had before. He knew that Simba would reveal himself in a short while. It did nothing but irritate him when Akido hurried the deceased lion.

"Something on your mind?" came the expected voice from behind. Simba sounded a little different, but Akido paid no attention to it. He was too enthralled with the beautiful view.

"No, I was just bored is all." He replied without turning to face him. "There's not much going on right now."

"I know what you mean. It's been pretty muggy lately."

"Yea…" Akido smiled. _Like Simba had to worry about the weather._ "I hope the Kings of the Past aren't too upset with me." He continued; the view was just stunning. He couldn't seem to pull away from it.

"What? Why would they be upset?"

Akido blinked in confusion. "You know… with me kind of throwing the whole mission away and everything. I appreciate everything they did for me… but I just can't do what they need me to do."

"Vateli… _What are you talking about?_"

Akido froze. _Vateli?_ He whirled around, hoping to the kings that it was Simba just playing a cruel joke, but no… he wasn't. _Kovu_ stood a short distance away with a look of complete confusion splashed across his face. Akido just stared in horror. He _knew _the voice was different, but he was too absorbed in the scenery than in who he was talking to. He cursed his foolishness and struggled to recover.

"Ummm… Hi, Uh… Dad." He greeted brokenly. "What are you doing here?"

Kovu blinked. "I saw you walk up here and I decided to come sit with you. I _thought_ we were talking, but you seem to think differently."

"Sorry." Akido apologized. "I, uh… I thought you were someone else."

"Who else would I be?" Kovu asked quizzically.

"Ummm… I don't know. Listen dad, uh there's something that I forgot about that I need to take care of. Soooo, I gotta go now. Bye!" Akido walked quickly past his baffled father and down the slope of priderock, berating himself for being so stupid. He ducked into an unoccupied cave and waited a while to make sure he was _really_ alone.

"_Grandpa_!" he whispered as loud as he could, not wanting to attract any other nearby lions, but also wanting to get his grandfather's attention.

"You got yourself into a bit of a situation now haven't you?" asked an amused voice from behind.

Akido whirled around to face Simba. "I thought he was _you!_ Why didn't you warn me?"

Simba only chuckled at Akido's stress and laid down on a large rock. "There was nothing I could have done without alerting your father to my presence. Besides, it really isn't that big of a deal."

"How is this _not_ a big deal?" demanded Akido.

"So he heard you talking…" Simba struggled to find the right words. "_At_ me. Now he's just a little confused; he doesn't know anything of substance, so your mission hasn't been compromised."

"I gave up my _mission_." Akido reminded the great golden lion.

"Of course." He responded neutrally. "I _forgot_."

"The only thing that I'm worried that this will compromise is my parents' belief. Now they might just think I'm crazy and talk to the sky!"

Simba laughed and walked over to the distressed lion. "Trust me, if they think that talking to dead kings makes you crazy, then they probably thought I was insane."

"You did it a lot?" asked Akido.

He nodded. "Almost every day. And your father does too; you saw him that one night when I brought you back to look."

Akido blinked. Maybe his grandfather was right. "I still looked stupid up there."

"So what? We all look stupid sooner or later."

Akido allowed a smile cross his face. "Okay, it wasn't that big of a deal I guess."

"I'm glad that you're over it," Replied Simba. "Because there is something that I need to talk with you about."

Akido looked curiously at his grandfather. "What is it?" he asked slowly and carefully.

"The kings want you to reconsider your decision. We believe that it would be better for everyone if you took the initiative."

Akido's expression darkened instantly. "I already told you, NO! I have a great life now; I'm not going to risk _everything_ just to take some vengeance!"

Simba shook his head. "This isn't about _vengeance,_ Akido, this is about _balance_. Everything may seem alright right now, but the nature of imbalance is that it alters itself. If you don't do something soon, things could go from what it is now to horrible in a very short time."

Akido stared at his grandfather in amazement. "Are you _threatening_ me?"

Simba snorted and shook his head. "Of course not Akido, we don't threaten. I'm just stating a simple fact. It is up to you to choose whether or not to heed the warning we are trying to give you; unlike Shetani, we won't force you to do anything."

"Well, I think that I have everything under control." The lion replied as he turned toward the exit. "Thanks for the support grandpa." He shot over his shoulder in a rather sarcastic tone.

"Akido!" his grandfather called harshly.

The departing lion froze and looked back. "What?"

Simba's hard expression softened a bit as he walked up alongside his grandchild. "Akido, we're trying to help you. If we didn't care about you and the Pridelands we wouldn't have sent you back in the first place."

Akido sighed and hung his head, feeling bad for how he had spoken to his grandfather. "I know… and I'm sorry, but I just can't do this. It's not a matter of will, but of simple fact. _I can't!_"

"I see," mumbled the clearly disappointed great lion. "Well I have another task for you, if you want it."

Akido didn't know what to say. Was this a trap, was he going to get involved with something and ultimately end up fighting Nuru? "What kind of task?"

Simba smiled. "This isn't from the council, just from me. You were doing so well with relaying conversations between Hatola and your father, I figured you might enjoy delivering a few messages from me."

Now it was Akido's turn to smile. He sat on the stone floor and listened intently to his beloved grandfather's requests. Simba and the great kings may have been trying to do the impossible, but he still loved them.

*****Author's Note*****

**I don't want to ruin anyone's time, but I've got to be honest. I don't like this chapter; I feel it just turned out sub-par, but unfortunately I cannot figure out for the life of me how to fix it. If you enjoyed it, then good, I'm glad. If enough people tell me that they liked it, maybe I'll change my mind, but for now I'll just stick with my dissatisfaction and assume that you all feel similarly. In any case, stay tuned for the final set of chapters (yes, the conclusion is coming), which I **_**PROMISE**_** will be better than this chapter. As always, keep reviewing! Don't be afraid to tell me where I went wrong with this one, because I honestly have no clue.**

**-Ben**


	10. Chapter 10: The Spell is Broken

*****Chapter 10*****

*****The Spell is Broken*****

Akido caught up to Adira who was descending the trail from the main cave. His face split into a wide grin as he fell into step with her.

"What?" she asked carefully, not liking his look. "What do you want?"

Akido just kept smiling. "When are you leaving this morning?"

"Later. We caught more than enough yesterday, so we decided to shorten the length of today's hunt. Why, were you planning something?"

"I actually was going to go talk to my parents for a bit." He replied.

Adira looked at him quizzically. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Akido's grin verified her suspicions. "Grandpa gave me some messages for them."

She chuckled at the new information. "When are you going to tell them?"

"Right now, actually. They're just getting up, so I figured we could meet up with them on their way to the water hole."

"_We?"_ she asked.

Akido shrugged, taken aback by her reluctance. "Well, I just figured that you could back me up… but if you don't want to, that's fine."

Adira shook her head and smiled. "Oh… no, Akido, of course I'll go, I just figured that _you_ wanted to do this alone. I didn't want to get in the way of your family."

"Adira, You _are_ my family!" he responded happily. A noise over his shoulder made him look. He spotted his parents along with Nala exiting the cave into the morning sun. "There they are, come on."

Adira followed the lion back up the path, and after he explained that they wanted to accompany them to the water hole, they set off as a group. The cool air from the night before still remained in the shadows of the trees, but in the open savannah the warm breezes heated by the newly risen sun were predominant. They moved slowly to accommodate to Kovu's crippled leg. It clearly bothered him to have to be catered to, but he traveled without complaint. He was used to it by now. The group walked in slow silence for a while, save for some minor conversations about weather and hunting; Akido wanted to make sure that they were alone before he said anything.

"So Adira," began Nala. "How do you like the hunting party?"

She smiled. "It's great. Everything that I hoped it would be."

Kiara snorted humorously. "I'll bet it is, you're actually _good_ at hunting. I was always terrible!"

Everyone laughed and Kovu spoke. "Oh come on now, you just weren't meant to be great hunters like me and Nala!" His joking arrogance made Kiara smile before she pushed him away playfully.

Akido decided to chime in. "Hey, don't leave me out! I'm just as terrible of a hunter as mom!"

Nala grinned. You're all bragging about who was the worst hunter, but let me tell you all!" She turned to Akido. "Your grandfather was absolutely _horrible_! He never learned how, and he never had to." The aging lioness shivered. "He grew up on all those bugs, _yeacgh_"

"Oh don't remind me!" added Kiara, who also cringed at the thought.

Akido glanced around them. They were definitely completely alone; the savannah was quiet. "Ummm, speaking of Grandpa…" he began, "Dad, you remember yesterday when you found me at the peak?"

Kovu nodded, his expression was uncertain.

"What happened?" asked Kiara. Nala seemed equally confused.

Kovu shrugged. "I found Vateli on top of the peak yesterday, and he was just talking. It was nothing, really."

Akido smiled at his father's casualness. "Well, I didn't really know how to explain it then, but I think I can now."

"Really?" his father looked at him in a vaguely curious tone. "So, who did you think you were talking to?"

"Well, I was talking to Grandpa, I thought you were him."

His parents smiled, as did Nala. It probably seemed sweet, he figured, a grandson trying to talk to his grandfather that he had never met before. Kovu was the first to speak. "Does he usually respond like I did?"

Akido was quiet for a moment. "Actually… yes, he does."

His father's expression darkened along with the others'. "Akido… don't joke around about that sort of thing. It isn't funny." He turned to Nala and began to talk about something else, but Akido cut him off.

"I'm not joking dad. I've been talking with Grandpa for a long time."

Kiara looked sad. "Vateli… don't. That's crazy."

He resisted the pull to frustration; he knew that it would take time. "I talked to him yesterday, after you saw me. He said that if you thought it was crazy to talk to dead kings, than you probably thought he was insane."

Nala chuckled, but otherwise remained silent.

"Vateli!" Kiara said forcefully.

Akido was surprised at his mother's assertiveness, but continued anyways. "He gave me some messages to give to you."

Kovu stopped walking. "Vateli, this _isn't_ funny! Knock it off!"

"It isn't meant to be funny, it's the truth." He replied calmly. "He wanted me to tell you that he saw you both on that one night."

Kiara narrowed her eyes. "_What night?_"

"The second night after dad came to live here. You were both stargazing for a while before Rafiki came and lead you away. He said it was disgusting how you two were all over each other."

Nala burst out laughing and his parents just stared. "_Mom!_" Kiara hushed the older lioness.

"I'm sorry honey," began Nala while she wiped tears from her eyes, "but I was there too, and it _was_ disgusting!"

"_WHAT?" _exclaimed both Kovu and Kiara simultaneously. "You were watching us?"

Nala kept laughing. "Yes, I know it looks bad. Simba was still trying to figure you out, Kovu, he was actually asking his father for guidance when I showed up."

Kiara was dumbfounded. "So you put Vateli up to this, Mom?"

Nala shook her head. "I never spoke a word about that event to anyone except your father." She looked at her grandson and smiled. "The next time you see him, Vateli, please tell him that I love him."

Akido smiled. "He hears you whenever you say it."

"Nala, you're buying this?" asked Kovu who was visibly irritated.

The lioness just smiled up at the sky. "Kovu, you should know by now that there are things in the world that are larger than us. Have a little faith."

The dark lion shook his head gloomily. "I lost my faith a long time ago." He said in almost a whisper. "If the kings really cared about us, things would have been different."

His father's harshness surprised Akido. He began to think that this might be a bit more difficult than he originally figured. The look on Adira's face showed that she felt similarly. "Dad," he began, "The kings have been more involved in our lives than you know."

Kovu frowned at his son. "If your grandfather could have seen how I acted when Nuru came, he would never have tried to contact me again, especially not through my son."

"You're wrong dad." Akido said calmly, remembering his words from when he was just a newly returned cub, "Grandpa is very proud of you."

Kovu snorted and turned away from the group. After he left, Kiara turned back to the younger lions. "Don't worry, Vateli. He just needs some time to think about it, is all."

Adira frowned. "He didn't even tell him the big stuff."

"_What big stuff_?" asked Kiara in a surprised tone.

Nala was equally surprised, "You knew about all this?" she asked.

Adira looked frantically to Akido for help, clearly regretting speaking up.

"Umm, yea," he began slowly. "I told her a while back because we kind of decided something…"

The older lionesses looked at the two intently, waiting for him to continue.

He decided he should just come out and say it. "We decided that we're going to be mates."

A broad grin spread across both of the lionesses' faces. "Oh that's wonderful, Vateli!" cried his mother, pulling both him and Adira into a tight embrace. "I always thought you two were so cute together!"

"_Mom_!" Akido protested as he looked over to Adira. She laughed at his distress and returned Kiara's hug. The lion sighed and just hugged his mother. "Don't tell Dad, okay? I want to tell him myself."

"Of course Vateli," Nala agreed. "We'll keep quiet for you."

The walk went on for quite a while longer, deeper conversations about Akido's interaction with Simba. It became quite clear that Nala believed him completely, and Kiara was well on her way as well. Akido figured his father just needed some time; it _was _quite a difficult concept to swallow, especially considering everything he had been through. Eventually the group went their separate ways and Akido found himself walking with Adira again.

"Well that went well." Akido looked over at her and realized that she was serious.

"How do you figure? I didn't get far enough to tell them the truth about _me_!"

Adira just shrugged. "Oh, don't worry about it, Akido. Just be happy that they believe your thing about Simba."

He sighed deeply. "I guess you're right. They just need time to sort it all out. I'll talk to them in a week or so about it again." He looked at her and realized she was grinning. "What?"

"You told them that other thing too." She stated smugly.

He chuckled. "Okay, _that_ went well. I'm glad they know."

"Me too." She agreed as she nuzzled her love's cheek. "I liked you reaction to your mother's hug, by the way."

Akido laughed at the memory. "You just love to see me uncomfortable don't you?"

"Of course not!" she replied in a mock surprised tone. "I just think that it's funny to see you, _the great Akido, master of the afterlife_, humbled by your mother's touch. It's very funny." She explained.

"Alright," he conceded in between laughs, "It _is _funny. Now let's go find my dad."

The two continued up the pathway to one of the higher caves of Priderock where Kovu spent a lot of his time. Akido suspected that it was because neither Nuru nor his leopards ever went up there, so the former king did not have to be reminded of his past. The Sun was still only barely above the horizon; much of the pride had not yet woken. They found Kovu right where they expected to; he was staring out at the savannah from the mouth of his secluded cave.

"Kovu?" Adira began quietly.

"What are you two doing here?" the dark lion said with a slightly bitter tone.

"About earlier…" Akido began. "I know that the whole thing is a bit hard to swallow, but it _is_ the truth, and I hope that you eventually see it."

"Is that all you came up here for?" he asked suspiciously.

Adira smiled and looked to Akido as she responded. "Actually no."

Akido smiled back at her. "We already told mom and grandma, but we figured that they would tell you if we didn't get to you first…"

Kovu looked at his son intently.

"It's just that Adira and I decided that we are going to be mates."

The former king stared at the two younger lions for a moment before a broad grin spread across his face. "Well. Congratulations to the both of you!" he told them. He chuckled. "I was wondering when you were going to spill the beans."

"You _knew?_" gasped Adira as she began to blush.

Now it was Akido's turn to laugh at _her_ discomfort.

"Of course I knew." answered Kovu. "You two have been inseparable from the day you could walk. It makes sense that you would fall in love."

Akido smiled and hugged his father unabashedly. "Thanks dad."

**((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

Akido trotted through the warming Savannah towards the Cheetahs. It was nice out, similar to how most of the days had been lately. He was glad that he had at least tried to explain things to his parents, even if he didn't get to the really important stuff. They knew that he had been talking with Simba, and that he and Adira were together. The lion shrugged; Adira was right, it was a win. They just needed time to get used to the idea before he laid down more truth. Time was something that he had plenty of; there was no rush at all to get anything done, and he liked it that way.

Just as he thought that, a massive roar echoed from Priderock. Akido stopped and looked back at the massive stone. No other sounds emerged from his home. He shrugged; Nuru was probably just warming up his lungs.

He met up with Hatola and Tana shortly in the shade of their grove. Hatola smiled at him.

"Good morning Vateli, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise." Akido responded as he usually did. He had visited the Cheetahs so many times that their initial greetings had become rather redundant.

Tana smiled at his friend. "I'm sure that you want to do the usual stuff today Vateli, but I'm going to have to decline."

Akido frowned. "Oh come on, don't give me that."

The cheetah shook his head. "No, no, no. I was up all last night trying to catch an antelope, and I only _just_ got home a couple minutes ago. I am completely exhausted."

A quick look at Tana was all Akido needed to see that he was telling the truth. There were dark bags under his eyes and his knees appeared shaky. He felt bad for the poor animal; he was hunting so hard because of the leopards. "Alright, never mind then." He conceded. "Go get to sleep!"

Tana chuckled and turned to a small overhang. "I've got no problem with that!"

Hatola smiled as he watched his son lay down. "You're a good friend, Vateli, you know that?"

Akido smiled and looked at the cheetah leader. "He's a better one." He said simply. "_And_ he's a great teacher as well."

Hatola smiled. "Well he says the same about you."

"What?" what have I taught _him?"_ struggled Akido.

"Tana told me that he learned a lot from you. He feels that if he hadn't met you and Adira that one day, he would have ended up hating all Lions because of everything Nuru has done."

Akido shook his head. "I wish there was something I could do to fix this whole thing with you and the leopards."

Hatola sighed. "Don't worry about it, Vateli. We are a strong family; when all the herds left during Scar's reign, we were the only ones besides the lions to remain faithful to the land. If we have to try a little harder to get enough food, then that's just what we will do."

Akido nodded. He was sure that the cheetahs would be fine; he just wished that they didn't have to struggle so much. It wasn't right.

The lion and cheetah continued their talk for a long while before Akido departed back towards Priderock. On his way, he realized that he had actually stayed later than he would have normally for his training. The afternoon was setting in, and the savannah reflected the laziness of the air. Akido walked along the path at his usual pace, observing the land as he went. After a while, he started to notice a difference in the lands. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but something was definitely off. One look at any of the herds he passed verified his concerns. The animals looked worried, even sad. He climbed a nearby hill and looked out over the savannah. The huntresses that he expected to see were nowhere to be found. Something was definitely off, and Akido increased his pace back to Priderock.

He approached the base of the great monument to find most of the pride just laying around in silence, almost in shock. Akido climbed the pathway and entered the main cave. His parents stood in the corner silent in each other's company.

"Mom, Dad!" he called.

They looked up at him with pained expressions. "Vateli…" his father began. "We have some bad news."

"Yea, I kind of figured that something was wrong. What is it?"

Kiara stared at the floor. "Zira is dead." She stated bluntly.

Akido was confused, Zira was not the most beloved lioness in the pride, her death would not be mourned this much. "What?"

She continued through a closed throat. It seemed to be very difficult for her to speak. "Nuru found her this morning after you left, she died in her sleep."

Akido was still extremely baffled. If he had just found out that Zira was dead, he would have been happy, though he knew it was wrong. He waited for his mother to continue.

Kiara looked up at him. "Nuru blamed _you_, Vateli. He said that you had the motive and that your departure this morning proved your guilt. He wanted to _kill_ you." she said in a small voice.

Akido stared at his parents in shock. "_So Nuru is going to kill me_?" he asked in utter disbelief.

Kovu shook his head sadly. "No son. He wanted to, but…" he started to get choked up. "Adira… Adira took the blame. She said that she poisoned Zira last night with some of Rafiki's plants." A tear dripped from the dark lion's eye. "Nuru believed her."

Akido was horrified. "No. No, No. He… he didn't."

Kiara looked up at him. "No, he hasn't killed her… yet. He said he's going to execute her at sunrise tomorrow."

Now he knew why everyone was in shock. He didn't know what to feel. She was alive, so he couldn't mourn, but she was also close to death, so he was afraid. He had to find her. "Where is she?" he asked urgently.

"Nuru put her in one of the higher caves," answered his mother. "But I don't think they are allowing visitors."

Akido turned away without another word and ran off toward the higher caves. Tears streamed down his face as his heart raced. _How could he let this happen?_ This was completely his own fault. If he had taken the initiative like Simba had told him, this whole thing could have been avoided. He shook his head angrily as he ran. Why did he have to leave this morning? He should have stayed here, then _he_ could have at least taken the blame! Akido's mind raced through hundreds more possibilities as he ascended the trail. Every way he thought of it, he could have done something different that could have saved her, but now… now he had no idea what to do.

He reached the cave where she was held. It was pretty clear that she was in there, due to the two leopards that guarded the entrance. He approached them aggressively, but the Leopards held their own against the larger lion.

"Let me through!" he demanded of the corrupt animals.

"Strict orders," they hissed maliciously. "No one sees the girl"

Akido growled angrily and threw his head back aggressively. The leopards moved into a ready stance, and he realized that they _wanted_ to fight him. It would be playing right into their hands to do so, if one got away he would tell Nuru and then Akido would be condemned as well. He couldn't help Adira if he was dead. He decided to change his tactics a little.

"Tell you what…" he began slowly. "I think we can reach an understanding."

The leopards relaxed their stances, becoming interested in the offer. "What did you have in mind?" the larger asked.

Akido lowered his voice. "I know a few of the huntresses pretty well… I can get you a lot of extra meat. More than you'll know what to do with."

The cats looked at each other skeptically. "How do we know that you'll deliver on this?"

Akido snorted. "You know who I am, and you outnumber me, so feel free to hold me to it." He answered bitterly. He had no intention of keeping his promise, but he hoped to the kings that they would buy it.

The larger leopard nodded slowly. "Alright… but be quick. There'll be hell to pay if anyone finds out about this."

The lion nodded and passed by the crooked cats. The cave was as dimly lit as any of the other caves, but something set it apart from all the rest. It was colder, not in temperature, but in atmosphere. It chilled Akido's soul as he scanned the dark stone.

Adira lay on a wide slab towards the back of the cave. He approached slowly, noticing the dark bruises that were starting to show through her fur. Small amounts of dried blood were present around her neck and shoulders.

Akido collapsed next to her in remorse. "_Adira_…" he whispered to her.

She stirred and rolled over to look at him. "Akido." she smiled at him and his heart soared at the sight.

He licked her muzzle. "I'm so sorry. I should have been there."

"No, you shouldn't have. Nuru would have killed you if you were anywhere _near_ Priderock... Now you don't have to die." She said it with so much happiness that it almost broke the lion's heart.

"But now he's going to kill _you_!" he protested.

"It doesn't matter," she replied weakly. "You're alright."

He paused and looked at her. "Did you do it?"

Adira tried to laugh, but her bruises limited her. "You mean did I kill Zira? Of course not; she was old and died on her own. I made up the whole thing about poisoning her."

"I wish you wouldn't have." He murmured.

"I had to. I couldn't bear to let him hurt you again. You already died once, let _me_ go this time." she pleaded.

"No!" I won't let this happen. You can't die, Adira, I can't live without you! It tears me up to see you like this, how am I supposed to deal with your death?"

"Oh, Akido," said quietly, "It isn't so bad. It hardly hurts at all."

He knew she was lying, but he didn't push the issue. "I can't just sit by and watch you be executed by the same monster that killed me and my grandfather."

"You have to." She insisted. "Please, Akido, promise me that you won't do anything dangerous. There's nothing you can do."

"I can't promise that."

"Promise me Akido! I'm doing this so you won't get hurt, so don't throw your life away just because I am; I want you to live!"

Akido sighed deeply as tears began to fall. He was silent for a while, contemplating her demand. "I love you so much." He whispered as he nuzzled her cheek. She started to cry as well, and their tears mixed on each other's cheek as they lay together in silence.  
Time passed too quickly for Akido. He wanted to stay with her all night, but he knew he couldn't. He felt her breathing slow as she descended into slumber and he slipped out of her embrace, careful not to wake his love. He gazed at the lioness for several minutes before he turned and exited the cave past the corrupt leopards.

He looked to the across the savanna to the setting sun. It was blood-red, just as it was the night he had died. He stared at the darkening sky for a while, remembering the day. He suffered so much at the hands of Nuru. There was no way that he was going to allow Adira to experience anything _close_ to what did. Akido felt all of his fear, anger, frustration, and sadness melt away with the setting of the scarlet sun. The emotions faded into the cooling air, only to be reborn, just as he had been, into a new feeling. He wasn't afraid, he wasn't angry, or frustrated, or sad anymore. He was determined. Determined and focused to stop Nuru. He had run away from his responsibilities for long enough; it was time to face the monster.

He realized that there was little time to waste. Akido sprinted down the pathway and away from Priderock toward his destination. There was a certain grove that he needed to visit before dawn."

*****Author's Note*****

**ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I take it back, it was a good chapter! I just thought was a bit lower than average for me, but from the responses I received, I guess I was the minority there. So, in response to everyone's protests, I withdraw my earlier statement. **

**Now, onto **_**this**_** chapter, and this story in general. It has hit a couple of significant milestones that I wanted to share/thank you for. Namely, receiving over 50 reviews and containing over 30,000 words. This chapter is also the longest so far, if I'm not mistaken. Usually I try to do somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000, but this one is over 4,000. You guys probably don't care too much about my writing statistics, but I'm pretty proud of it.**

**I'll close by saying that I think I have a great ending in store for this story, so stay tuned, watch for updates, and REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11: The fight for Balance

*****Chapter 11*****

*****The Fight for Balance*****

Akido raced across the darkening savannah as fast as he could. Priderock quickly disappeared into the distance as he gained proximity to the cheetahs' grove. He knew what he had to do, even if he didn't know the outcome. He knew that he would face Nuru, hopefully with help, but he was still quite aware of his chances even if he did get support. The day's events hadn't changed the fact that Nuru was a monster of a Lion and that he had a whole entourage of fierce leopards. Akido didn't really expect to survive, but he would give his all in trying to stop Nuru.

Akido suddenly became aware of another set of footsteps beside his own. He looked over to see Simba running alongside him.

"Grandpa!" he cried, happy to see the golden lion. "I should have listened to you, I'm sorry."

"That's not important right now, what is important is that you know what's going on."

Akido was confused. "What do you mean? I know what's happening, Adira is in trouble and I need to save her!"

Simba shook his head. "No, Akido. I mean what is happening _up there_," he said, gesturing to the sky. "Shetani wants _Nuru_ to succeed and is ready to interfere in the fight."

"_WHAT?"_ he exclaimed. "So I have to fight both Nuru _and_ the Devil?"

"No, Shetani won't interfere like that; he'll just try to support Nuru with his tricks."

Akido growled irritably. "I still don't like it."

Simba smiled at his grandson. "Relax, the kings and I have some tricks of our own, and we want _you_ to win. We'll be right there with you when you face him."

Akido thought back to how Simba had lured Tana to help them that one day. Maybe this could be a _good_ thing. "Alright, grandpa. Thanks for the help."

"Our pleasure. Good luck." The great lion said as he faded into the grassland.

The wind blew past Akido's face and forced him to squint. He could see the grove in the distance and quickened his pace. It was quite dark when he reached the trees, and as a result he was almost attacked by the sentries.

"Stop!" demanded one. "Why are you here?"

"I need to speak with Hatola immediately, it's very important!" he insisted adamantly.

The guard remained skeptical. "Yes, I'll bet. Need more food for the leopards do ya?"

"What? No! Hatola's my friend and I need to talk with him right now!"

"Vateli?" came a voice from deeper in the grove. He looked to see Tana emerging from the darkness.

"Tana! Thank god. I need to see your father immediately!" he repeated.

"Why, what's wrong?" asked the cheetah as he waved the guard away.

Akido shook his head. "It's complicated."

The two moved quickly to where Hatola was sleeping. Tana wasted no time in waking his father.

"What… Vateli? What are you doing here?" mumbled Hatola as he woke.

"It's Adira," he explained quickly. Nuru plans to execute her at sunrise because he thinks that she killed Zira."

"_What_?" both of the cheetahs exclaimed simultaneously.

"She didn't do it, Zira just died in her sleep," he continued. "She'll die if we don't do something fast."

Tana was clearly livid, but Hatola was reluctant. "Are you asking me what I think you are?" the leader replied hesitantly.

Akido took a deep breath. "Priderock doesn't want Nuru as king anymore than you do, but there aren't enough lions to deal with all the leopards. If we can work together… we can win."

Hatola shook his head and turned away. His son stared at him angrily. "Father!" Tana cried. "Don't you see what kind of opportunity this is? We can _win_! We won't have to give them any more of our food; we won't have to live in fear!"

"I'm well aware of the benefits Tana, but what about the losses? Some will certainly get hurt, or worse. Are you ready to lead our family into battle, knowing that some won't come back?"

"Hatola," began Akido, "I made the mistake of refusing to act in order to keep the peace. Now my mate could die. If you don't act now, things could go from bad to worse, _very_ quickly."

The leader nodded and was silent for a while. "What if I say no?" he asked slowly.

"Then I return to Priderock, rally as many lionesses as I can, and fight Nuru with what I've got." Akido answered strongly.

"And I'm going too." added Tana.

The lion smiled at his loyal friend and turned back to Hatola, who surprised them both with a smile of his own. "Alright." He began. "It seems that we do indeed have an opportunity here. It would be foolish to pass it up."

Tana grinned at his father. "It will take a while to get everyone ready; we should start now."

"Yes," agreed Hatola. "We need to move quickly. I'll go gather our fighters"

Akido nodded. "I'll return to Priderock and ready our force."

"I'll go with you." Tana added before turning to his father. "I'll see you when you get there."

Hatola smiled and nodded. "Don't start the fight without us."

Akido turned away and departed the grove with Tana in close pursuit. They ran in silent determination through the Pridelands, never once slowing to catch their breath. They knew that they had a serious time constraint; if the sun rose before they could act, Adira was dead. They needed speed, and lots of it.

By the time the two friends neared the base of Priderock, the eastern sky was beginning to lighten. Akido figured they still had a few hours before the dreaded sun rose. They arrived at the main cave, but found it empty except for Nuru and his leopards. They quickly exited before any of the beasts noticed their presence, and walked to the other side of the great rock. The pride was all together on the underside of the rock's massive lip. Akido quickly found his parents.

"Vateli!" his mother cried, running to embrace him. "We were so worried about you. Where did you go? Who's this?" she asked, referring to tana.

"Mom, Dad, this is Tana. He's Hatola's son." He replied.

Kovu tried to smile. "It's good to meet you; I just wish it was during better circumstances."

"Likewise." Tana said, mimicking how Akido always greeted Hatola. Akido would have smiled if not for the urgency of the situation.

"Dad," Akido began. "We have to do something. Nuru's going to kill her."

Kovu sighed stressfully and looked to the floor. "What do you want me to do Vateli, fight?"

"Yes." He answered bluntly. "It's time we got rid of Nuru."

Kiara shook her head. "Dear, I know you're upset, but we _cannot_ fight them."

Kovu continued her thought. "If we could have, we would have done it a long time ago. We just aren't strong enough to oust him."

"My father is coming," Tana interjected. "He is bringing all of our fighters to stop Nuru."

Kovu frowned. "He shouldn't be doing this, there's no way that he can hope to win against them."

"Not alone, they can't," countered Akido, "But if we work together we stand a chance. We need you to lead us, Dad. Adira will _die_ if you don't."

Kovu shook his head and was quiet. "No Vateli. I cannot lead our pride, I'm old and crippled. I can't be an effective leader anymore."

Akido's heart fell. His father was refusing. He had anticipated that Hatola may have declined, but not his father of all people. "Dad…" he whispered.

Kovu held up his paw to silence his son. "The pride doesn't need me, Vateli, they need _you_. You can lead them to save Adira and defeat Nuru."

Akido smiled. "Alright. Thanks dad."

"The pride is here," said Kiara. "If you want their help, convince them."

Akido nodded and looked at the pride. The lionesses were all awake from worry, despite the hour. They all knew Adira one way or another and the wait was affecting them all. Some cried openly, others stared silently at the ground. Some were comforters, while others needed comforting. Akido climbed to the top of a small boulder that gave him an adequate view of the area.

He looked to the brightening sky, and realized that he had little time left. A closer analysis of the sky revealed something else entirely. On the eastern horizon where the sun would soon rise from, massive clouds were building. They were unusual in that they seemed to reflect sunlight from their depths and brighten the sky. They moved at a rapid pace towards Priderock, and Akido knew instantly that they were the Kings. From the west, however, came another front of clouds. These were dark and foreboding. They reflected only the darkness from the night before and advanced at an equally fast pace. _Shetani._ Akido now understood what Simba meant by a clash of forces.

He looked back to the pride and felt a strong gust of wind ruffle his fur. _We are right here._ The wind seemed to say. It filled Akido with confidence as he let loose a roar across his pride. He made sure that it was loud enough to get their attention, but not so loud that he attracted the attention of Nuru or the leopards. The lionesses all looked up at him, unsure of what was happening.

All their eyes made him freeze at the spot, it was much more intimidating than he had originally thought it would be. "I-" he began slowly. "We all know what Nuru is planning on doing at sunrise," he began, gaining confidence as he continued. "And I don't think there's a single person here that agrees with it." He paused to let it sink in. "We have a chance today to fix what Nuru broke. If we want to, we can defeat him. Together."

One of the lionesses spoke up. "How?"

"The cheetahs are coming to help. They want Nuru gone as much as we do, and they're willing to _fight_ to make it happen. If we work together with them, we can _win!_"

Doubtful murmurs rippled through the pride and it seemed that almost no one felt the way he did. "Even with the cheetahs," began another, "Nuru is _still_ too strong." Rumbles of agreement passed through the pride.

Akido shook his head. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. "There's another group that is going to help us as well", he gestured to the advancing clouds. "I know that it sounds a bit overly dramatic, but I mean it in the most literal sense possible!"

Akido was discouraged again by another wave of remarks. "What do mean, did the kings finally take notice of our troubles?" asked one lioness sarcastically. Another mirrored the doubt. "How could you possibly know what the gods are thinking?"

Akido took a deep breath before continuing. "I've been talking with my grandfather a lot lately; he's appeared to me and told me what to do!"

"And why has he only appeared to _you_, are you _special_, or something?" With that, the crowd took on a life of its own, with lionesses talking amongst themselves in disgust and irritancy.

Akido bowed his head in defeat and then looked up to the clouds that now loomed closely over Priderock. _"I'm sorry grandpa… they don't believe me!"_ he whispered.

The still night air suddenly exploded into motion as a massive gust of cold wind blew across the pride. It was so strong that it threatened to blow Akido from his perch on the boulder. Just as suddenly as the winds started, it stopped, leaving the pride in stunned silence. The lionesses looked back to Akido as they contemplated the phenomenon.

Had the circumstances been better, Akido would have laughed. "That was my grandfather telling you all to shut up and _listen!_" He paused to make sure that he had their attention. They stared up at him, waiting to continue. "To really explain this, I should start at the beginning." He started, looking down at his parents. "Mom, Dad, this goes far deeper than everything I told you yesterday." He turned back to the pride as a whole. "This _will_ be very difficult for you all to believe, but I beg you to listen. My name is not Vateli, It is Akido. Nuru killed me, and the kings sent me back as my brother to fix the balance."

Just as quickly as they had focused on him, they burst into discussion again. Akido groaned and looked down at his parents. Kovu was frowning bitterly, even angrily at his son. "_Grandpa?"_ he whispered again, hoping that he would help.

Two sharp streaks of lightning simultaneously struck the ground on either side of the boulder he sat on. Again, it silenced the crowd, but unfortunately it also silenced Akido for a moment. He stared in shock at the lionesses. "Well that was my Grandpa again... Please don't make him do that another time, that last warning was pretty close to me." He looked down at his father again, whose angry look had been replaced by one of awe.

Akido turned back to the pride for the final part of what he had to say. "We all know the stories of the great Kings of the Past that watch over us, and I'm here to tell you that they're all true. For all of you who feel like they haven't sent us any help, here I am. They sent _me_ to fight Nuru, and I'm sorry that I didn't do it sooner. But the fact of the matter is that they want us to get rid of Nuru. They've given us all the tools we need to do so, now it's up to us to act. I'm begging you to believe me and to follow me against Nuru, because if you don't… If you don't, Adira will die."

Akido stared out at the pride, unsure of how they took it. _Did they believe him? Would they help?_ He watched as one of the skeptics that had been mocking him earlier rose to her feet. She stared at Akido for a moment, before letting loose a loud roar. Another rose alongside her and roared as well. Before long, the entire pride was on their feet and roaring in unison. They went silent for a moment and looked expectantly at Akido. He smiled at his followers and let loose his own deafening roar that lit a fire in the hearts of the Pridelanders. _ They believed him._ He looked to the side and saw a large group of Cheetahs arrive at the base of Priderock. Hatola nodded to Akido and began to ready his troops for the expected battle.

Akido leapt down from the boulder and landed at the feet of his parents. He looked up at their confused faces. "I'm sorry I never told you… I just never thought you would believe me. Dad, there was one night, not too long after I died, when I came back and you were outside. You were begging forgiveness from me and Grandpa."

Kovu shook his head, clearly confused. "I don't know what to believe right now."

Akido nodded. "I just want you to know, I never blamed either of you for what happened. I've always loved you, and so has grandpa."

Kiara smiled and pulled her son into a tight embrace with Kovu joining in quickly.

After what seemed like only a few seconds, he forced himself to pull away. "I have to go." He said simply.

Kovu and Kiara nodded understandingly and watched him depart.

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Nala who bounded over to Akido. "You aren't going to go fight Nuru without hugging your grandmother first!"

Akido smiled and held his grandmother close. He hoped that he would see them all again, but he knew that there was a decent chance that he would not. It pained him to turn away from his family, but Akido knew that he had to. Adira needed his help. He looked to the brightening sky and saw the tip of the blood-red sun pierce the horizon. Akido raced towards the main cave of Priderock with his followers in close pursuit.

They arrived at the base of the great stone's lip; Nuru stood atop the ramp with a semi-conscious Adira by his side. She was held down by several leopards who looked merely bored at the task. "Well, I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to show up. Some friends you all are, you almost missed her final moments." He sneered cruelly before turning to his prisoner. "If you have any last words, dear, now would be the time."

Adira looked sadly at the gathered pride. "Akido…" she called. "I love you… and I'm sorry,"

"I'm sorry too." He called strongly. Her eyes opened wide, as if sensing his plan. Akido looked up at the sky; the two rival banks of clouds had frozen in their places as if waiting for a cue to merge. "Let her go Nuru!

The great gray lion turned sharply to see his provoker. "Is that a challenge?" he asked dangerously.

"Yes it is." Akido responded boldly.

Nuru took a step toward him. "And who do you think you are to challenge a king like me?"

"I'm the cub you killed when you first stole the throne. The Kings of the Past didn't like how Shetani interfered with you, so they sent me back to fix the situation." Akido smiled as Nuru's expression dropped to pure anger.

"The Kings are weak! Shetani gave me all the power I need to defeat any one of you!"

Akido looked to Adira, she was clearly frightened by the monster of a lion that stood next to her. "Let Adira go, and we can settle this ourselves!"

Nuru grinned evilly. "If you wanted her to live, you should have thought of a better plan than a simple challenge." He nodded to the leopards that were holding Adira and they quickly got out of his way. She tried to stand to meet her attacker, but he was too fast.

Nuru seemed to move in slow motion as Akido stared in horror. Adira tried to move away, but the lion's extended claws tore across her neck, drawing deep red lines in her perfect fur. She screamed as she fell back to the ground violently, blood flowing from her neck. Akido roared in sheer anger and leapt at the great lion.

Priderock seemed to erupt with violence. Lionesses and cheetahs attacked together against the many leopards that had circled around to watch the execution. The fight was on, and the sky knew it. The clouds clashed in fierce battle of the elements. Wind blew sharply around the combatants and lightning streaked the sky. The thunder sounded suspiciously like a lion's roar, though none of the fighters really noticed over the fray.

Akido swung at his enemy's face, but missed. Nuru did the same, but only achieved a glancing blow. Before he could prepare for another attack, Akido lunged at him and knocked the massive lion to the ground. Nuru quickly recovered and threw the smaller lion away against a large rock, knocking the wind out of him. Wind rustled around his body as he quickly stood and tried to catch his breath. They circled each other slowly, waiting for the other to make a move. Out of the corner of his eye, Akido watched two lionesses move to Adira's side. They tried to help her injuries, but it wasn't clear how badly she was hurt. She wasn't moving.

Akido was enraged. Everything that this monster had done to him, to his family, had re-emerged in his thoughts. Death. Suffering. Pain. _Adira_. Akido roared out again for his fallen love and lunged again toward the monster that stood before him. They began another flurry of strikes, dodges, and blocks as they slowly ascended to the lip of Priderock. Neither lion could succeed very well at landing many blows; Akido had become exceptionally fast from his sparring with Tana, and Nuru was too experienced to let his strikes get through. Akido could see in the beast's eyes that Shetani was working his power. Nuru's already dark orbs seemed to blacken with evilness, a kind of darkness that excelled past the abilities of mere mortals.

Wind ripped around Priderock in massive gusts of air; the weather seemed to mimic the violence. When a solid blow was made, the wind blew harshly. Soon the battle that raged below the lip of the great rock slowed as lions, cheetahs, and leaopards alike realized the significance of the two lions atop the stone. They watched in horror as Akido began to stumble against Nuru's devil-empowered rage. He fell once under a crushing blow to the shoulder and felt claws rake across his front leg. The pain was immense, but it still paled in comparison of his death. Akido ignored the agony and kept fighting. They went back and forth for a while, and soon both were bloody. Out of nowhere, Nuru landed a terrible strike to his center mass and Akido went flying across the stone towards the edge of the lip. He struggled to stop his motion before he fell to his death. The younger lion's eyes opened wide as he realized in a split second what lay on the smooth stone. Time froze as he stared at the fine layer of sand that blanketed the edge. Smooth stone had decent traction and he certainly could have stopped himself, but the sand would make him slide off the edge and fall the massive distance to the ground below. Akido could only watch in horror as his paw descended inevitably towards the sand-covered stone.

A sharp and sudden gust of wind ripped past the lion's feet. Akido blinked as his paw set firmly down on clean, un-sandy stone. He stuck resolutely to the hard rock without sliding any further to the edge. Wind blew gently around Akido's mane as he smiled to the sky, remembering his grandfather's words, _They had tricks of their own_. He turned his attention back to Nuru who had begun a charge in an attempt to knock the younger lion off the edge for good. Akido sidestepped the gray lion and rolled smoothly away from the edge. He lunged back towards Nuru, who now stood on the edge of the lip. It seemed kind of foolish to try to _muscle_ the vastly larger lion off the edge, but Akido didn't know what else to do.

Nuru smiled at Akido's aggressive lunge and thrust his back paw to the stone for better balance, but before his paw could make contact with the clean and solid stone, another sharp gust of wind blew around the two combatants. The wind swept by again, deposited the fine layer of sand back onto the stone, reducing its traction. When Nuru's foot made contact with the sandy stone, it didn't stop moving. His black eyes opened wide as his balance was destroyed and Akido bowled into him with all his force. The massive gray lion slipped and stumbled under the extra weight that now pushed him backwards. He struggled to regain his footing, but everywhere he stepped there was loose sand and dust that continued his struggle for balance. Akido wound his arm back and struck out at the evil lion with all his force. The blow was enough to send Nuru backwards, and off the edge of the Priderock. All the animals watched in stunned silence as the once undefeatable King Nuru fell through the air to the sharp rocks below.

Akido stared in amazement. _He had done it. He had won._ He closed his eyes in tranquility as gentle wind blew around him and ruffled his fur. _Thank you grandpa._ He suddenly became aware of the countless eyes that were on him. _Time to end this_, he decided as he inhaled deeply. A deafening roar exploded out of his lungs simultaneously with a massive crash of thunder that rolled across the vast savannah, drawing the attention of all the creatures for miles. His pride returned with a roar of their own as the remaining leopards fled from the area with their lives.

Akido looked across at the celebrating pride with contentment. Everything was alright now, he could relax. _Adira!_ The thought ripped through his mind like a saw, destroying any and all pleasant feelings that he had been experiencing. He raced down the ramp in search of his love. Through the help of various witnesses, he learned that she had been taken to a nearby cave. The lion sprinted to his destination, praying that she was alright.

He entered the dimly lit cave to find his parents along with hers, standing to the side with their heads bowed. Rafiki stood over an unmoving lioness that lay on a raised slab of stone. He muttered prayers and incantations as he sprinkled a fine powder over her body. The mandrill looked to Akido and walked slowly over to the lion.

"She is alive, but barely. I do not believe dat she has much time left in dis world."

His words struck deep into Akido's heart as he stared at his dying love. _"No…" _he whispered. Not Adira. Not his love. He slowly approached the lioness. Her wounded neck was covered with Rafiki's bandages and truly did not look too bad. It was hard for Akido to believe that she was truly dying.

"Adira…" he whispered, hoping that she could hear him.

She stirred slightly and opened her eyes a crack. "Oh Akido… I was so worried." She said in a hushed voice. "Did you win?"

Tears streamed down Akido's face as he struggled to answer. "Y- Yes. Nuru is dead. I'm so sorry Adira, I should have acted sooner."

The lioness smiled and looked at him sadly. "I did this to protect you, and I succeeded; it was my choice. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I –I can't lose you. Please… don't do this."

Adira smiled at her love. "I wish I had a choice, but I don't. We'll be together again one day… I'll wait for you, my love."

"I'll find you." he replied quietly.

"_Someday_." she whispered to him. The dying lioness closed her eyes and leaned her head back. "Tell me again about what the afterlife is like."

Akido shook his head and pressed his head against hers. "It's… There's just beautiful trees and grasses everywhere… Mountains in the distance with jungles at their bases. Everyone that has already gone is waiting for you…" Akido broke down into sobs at her side.

"You're right." She whispered with sealed eyes. "_It is beautiful."_

Akido buried his head into her fur. "_I love you_."

"I love you too, Akido." came her final relpy.

He felt her shallow breathing slow and ultimately stop. Her heart's faint pulse faded into nothingness and her head went limp on the cold stone. A single and final tear fell from her motionless eyes onto Akido's paw. He cried into her fur as his parents did the same into each other's neck. Adira was dead, killed at the hands of the same murderer that took his own life so long ago.

*****Author's Note*****

**I don't feel that I should write anything this time.  
Review please.**

**-Ben**


	12. Chapter 12: Another Deal

*****Chapter 12*****

*****Another Deal*****

Akido stared at the lifeless body of his beloved mate that lay before him on the stone slab. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she was dead. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks and dripped to the cold stone floor.

"I'm sorry son." Kovu said quietly, stepping forward to Akido's side. "She loved you so much."

"No." Akido shook his head. "No, it can't be like this. This isn't right."

Kiara came up from behind as well. "This is life. We can't control it." She said solemnly .

"Grandpa…" Akido whispered.

Kovu frowned. "What?"

"Grandpa can help!" Akido whirled around to look at his parents. "He always helps."

A deep voice from the entrance made Akido look. "No, Akido. I can't this time."

Kovu and Kiara gasped at the golden lion that entered the cave. Simba came to stand over Adira's body as Akido stared. "What do you mean _not this time_? I need her grandpa, as much as everyone needed me back!"

Simba sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry. But the world is not as perfect as you would like to believe."

Kovu and Kiara were still staring at the dead king. "Daddy?" Kiara squeaked.

Simba smiled sadly. "Yes Kiara. It's good to see you both." He nodded to the couple, but did not move towards them. Instead, he watched Akido return to Adira's side.

He leaned into her ear and whispered so only she could have heard. "_Please, Adira. Wait for me."_ He cried into her cheek, wishing she was still with him. There was nothing he could do, and it tore him up inside to accept that fact.

It didn't seem like really the time to ask, but Akido desperately wanted to think about something else. "How are you here grandpa?" he asked.

Simba frowned. "I've always come to see you."

"Yea, but never with my parents around." He looked back at Adira, She looked so peaceful. Asleep in the dark abyss of the afterlife. Fresh tears started to fall as he became aware of Simba's answer.

"Well… I can show myself to whoever I want. I'm a king."

Akido blinked. "That never gave you a free pass before. What happened to only _slight_ appearances during emergencies?"

Simba looked around the cave, as if searching for the answer. He looked to Kovu and Kiara, who were staring at the golden lion hesitantly. Something was definitely off. This wasn't the normal Simba. "We change the rules to how we want." He replied arrogantly.

"What about retaliation from Shetani?" Something was wrong. The kings weren't this arrogant, especially not Simba.

Simba sighed and stared somewhat angrily at Akido. "Akido, you just need to understand that _I_ am your grandfather, and that there are things outside of your knowledge that you shouldn't interfere with!"

Akido stared, stunned into silence by his grandfather's outburst. He stared deep into Simba's eyes. Akido blinked. _They were black_. Not just a normal black either, but a shade so dark that it seemed to suck all light from the surrounding space. He shook his head. "No… I don't know who you are, but you are _not_ my grandfather."

The golden lion's dark eyes narrowed at his supposed grandson. "I _told you that you shouldn't have interfered_!" he hissed dangerously.

Akido took a step back. He had no idea what was going on, and from the looks on his parents' faces, neither did they. All he knew was that the lion that stood before him was _not_ his grandfather.

The supposed Simba growled angrily as he began to change. His short golden fur lengthened and darkened to a shiny black and his bright red mane took on a similar hue. His paws grew to twice their original size, with claws extended and ready to kill. By the time the transformation was complete, the black lion stood far taller than Nuru ever had, with eyes that were far blacker than the murderous king's.

When Akido had looked into Nuru's eyes, he had only seen a slight fraction of the blackness that he now saw. "_Shetani._" He whispered in a mixture of fear, awe, and anger. This was the _real_ creature that caused his family so much pain. _Shetani killed Adira. _"What do you want?"

The black lion growled at the lion and smiled evilly. "You ruined everything! No one crosses me and lives!"

Akido stared at the monster with growing hatred and diminishing fear. "You destroyed my life!"

"Clearly, not enough."

Akido roared in anger and leapt at the Devil. He crashed into the beast, and began to strike slash with all his might. He drew deep lines in Shetani's side and rolled to the side to avoid his retaliatory swipe. Akido stared at his accomplishment. _He had just wounded the devil._ His victory was short lived, however, as Shetani just smiled. The gashes that he had just been inflicted healed and disappeared from his long black fur.

"You fool," The black lion hissed. "You cannot hurt _me_, only I can hurt _you_."

Akido backed against Adira's body as Shetani advanced, he looked down at his fallen love. "Maybe I'll see you sooner than we thought I would." He whispered to her.

He hadn't meant for anyone else to hear, but apparently the beast had heard. "Oh no, Akido," he smiled cruelly. "When I kill you, you won't go to the afterlife like you did last time. You will go with me to _hell_. You will never see Adira or any of your friends or family again. You will suffer eternally at my hand."

Akido stared in complete and utter horror. He hadn't really feared dying except for the pain he associated with it, he actually almost wished for it's perfect world, especially with Adira waiting for him. But this… this was a fate far worse than the most agonizing and gruesome death. He would never see his love again. She would wait and wait, and he would never arrive. He stared at Adira's body. A tear fell from his eye and fell to the floor at the thought of never seeing her again. It destroyed him.

"Akido, no!" cried his mother as she leapt at Shetani. A sharp blow caught her in midair and sent her crashing to the ground. Kovu roared and moved to attack as well, despite his crippled leg.

"Dad, No!" Akido cried. "Don't do it." Kovu looked at his son with pure sorrow. He knew that the younger lion was right; there was no use in fighting the beast. Instead of lunging at Shetani, Kovu limped to Kiara and helped her up.

Shetani chuckled at their attempt. "You cannot stop me. There is nothing you can do to avoid your fate."

A loud roar from behind the monstrous lion made them all look. "Maybe they cannot do anything, Shetani, but _I_ can!" Simba entered the cave and took up a fighting stance against the devil.

The black lion snarled and lunged at the great king. "You Kings are all alike, all equally weak!" he yelled furiously.

The two opposing forces clashed violently. Simba was significantly smaller than Shetani, but it was clear that there was more to this fight than simple body weight. They wove around each other's strikes at an astonishing speed; neither could land a hit on the other. Akido, Kovu, and Kiara stared in amazement at the duel of opposites that raged before them. Simba became a fury of strikes, slashes, and dodges against Shetani's brutal attacks.

Shetani roared in rage and frustration as Simba's claws finally raked across the black lion's chest. This time, the wound did not heal. He stared down at his ripped chest, momentarily shocked and stunned at the wound. Realizing the advantage, Simba leapt at the demon and pinned the larger lion to the ground.

Shetani stared in amazement at the turn of events. He was silent for a while, trying to figure out how he had been beaten. "_Fine._ He finally spat at the great golden king. "You have your victory. But I _will_ be back." With that, the evil lion faded into the air and Simba's paws fell to the stone floor with a loud thud. He looked to Akido, who simply stared in astonishment.

"Grandpa?" he asked hesitantly. "It really is you?" One look into his clear amber eyes was all Akido needed for proof. He ran to embrace his deceased grandfather. "Thank you… _Again_." He whispered into his mane. Kovu and Kiara ran to him as well. The reunited family was together again for the first time in years.

SImba smiled and held his grandson close. "You have done exceptionally well Akido. We are all extremely proud of you."

Akido shook his head, remembering his painful failure. "I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't save her."

Simba sighed. "In the same way that you could not hurt Shetani, there was no way you could have saved Adira. She _chose_ to die for you."

The younger lion turned away from his family and walked over to his love. He nuzzled her limp muzzle a final time before closing his eyes. He rested his head on her side, listening to the gentle pulse of her slowly beating heart. Akido blinked. _Dead lions don't have a pulse_. He pressed deeper into her chest to be sure that he wasn't just imagining it. It was definitely there, albeit faint. He looked to her face, afraid to be hopeful, but more afraid to live without her.

"_Adira_?" he whispered quietly.

Her eyes opened slightly and a slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Akido stared in utter amazement. "It _was_ beautiful." She whispered.

"I thought you were dead!"

"I was." She replied faintly, smiling at his confusion.

"How?"

"They said my body really wasn't in that bad of shape, and they decided to give me a second chance… on one condition though."

"What condition?"

"My job is to make sure _you_ do a good job as king."

Akido grinned and licked the cheek of his returned mate. It was as if he was dreaming; he turned to face his grandfather and stunned parents to repeat his question. "How? I thought you couldn't do stuff like that."

Simba smiled. "We gave allowed _you_ to return because Shetani interfered too harshly into your world. We decided that since he tried to take you to hell, we needed something to balance it out and it seemed appropriate to make Adira a similar deal. Though it was up to her to either accept or decline the offer.

Adira snorted quietly and then winced. Her wounds were still quite bad.

"Hey, take it easy." Akido whispered into her ear.

She just smiled. "I would never _decline_ to stay with you, Akido."

"Thank you." He answered as he nuzzled her nose. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Me too."

Akido still had a few more questions for his grandfather. "I thought you said I wouldn't have to fight Shetani, that he wouldn't interfere like that."

Simba raised his eyebrows. "We didn't think he would, Shetani has _never_ actually attacked a living lion like that before. You _really_ made him angry, Akido."

Adira chuckled despite her injuries. "I'm just glad you're all okay."

"Says the lioness who just came back from the dead." Akido countered before nuzzling her cheek again. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again." he whispered into her ear.

She laughed at her mate and pulled him into a loving lick.

A broad grin spread across his face as he looked to his family. Adira was alive, wounded, but alive. Nuru was dead and the leopards were gone. They were all alright. Everything was alright. It was over.

**(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))**

The formerly dreaded golden sun broke through the horizon and flooded the savannah with brilliant light. Akido stared over his kingdom with thankful eyes from the peak of Priderock before turning to his mate who stood by his side. Adira had also healed well from Nuru's attack. Faint scars still showed through her fur; daily reminders of the struggle for freedom of tyranny. She stared at Akido with loving eyes.

"Well, your highness, what do you plan on doing after your ceremony?" she asked playfully.

Akido smiled. "I'm not King yet, but I figured the first thing I did should be of extreme importance." He stared solemnly out at the savannah. "There seems to be a lot of loose sand on the lip of Priderock; someone could slip and fall."

Adira laughed and pushed him to the ground, pinning him to the floor.

Akido leaned up and licked her muzzle. "Seriously, though. I need to rebuild our reputation in the kingdom, let the animals know that we are _not_ like Nuru was."

She nodded and licked him back before allowing him to stand. "Well we should probably get going. It would be bad for the new king to be late for his own crowning."

Akido nodded and followed his mate down the path to where everyone was waiting. He watched happily as her somewhat enlarged stomach swayed slightly with his heir inside. _He was going to be a father;_ it both excited him, _and_ scared him to death. His parents had been very supportive; they promised to help him with anything he needed help with, be it parenthood, or Kingship. Akido was embarrassed to admit it, but he was far more nervous about parenthood.

The couple arrived at the lip of the great rock. He embraced his family. Kiara and Nala were both crying from happiness, and Kovu stood tall with pride. It had taken a while, but he had finally come to terms with his son's identity as Akido. No longer did he torment himself with remorse and shame; he was far too proud of his returned son.

Akido looked off the edge of the stone lip. All the herds and packs of the Pridelands had assembled at the base of Priderock, awaiting the arrival of their new king. He began the ascent to the King's perch at the tip of the great stone, becoming increasingly aware of the responsibilities he was assuming. He walked the same steps that his father had. That his grandfather and his great grandfather had taken so many years ago. He looked up into the blindingly bright sky to see Simba smiling down at him from the heavens.

A friendly gust of wind caught his mane as he approached the edge. Akido closed his eyes and savored the feeling before looking across the savannah. The animals began to bow in groups. First the cheetahs, led by Hatola and Tana. Akido smiled at their loyalty; none of this would have been possible without them. Other groups soon followed; the rhinos, the elephants, the zebras. Each paid their respects and showed their loyalty to their returned prince and new king.

Akido smiled at the new era that had begun. He let loose a thundering roar that echoed across the Pridelands reaching every ear for miles. The pride behind him echoed his roar, as did the sky. A sharp crash of thunder pealed from the bright clouds. Akido roared again. It was _his _turn now.

*****Author's Note*****

**This is indeed the true end. Thank you all for reading and sticking through all the bitter parts for the final conclusion. I had a great time writing this, and I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Now, being that the story is finished, I'd like to propose a few questions to you. What was your favorite part of the story, least favorite part, and anything that I did wrong? I'm still pretty new to this, so I really want to know from my readers what I'm doing right as well as what I'm doing wrong. Feel free to extend this question to cover "Nala's Brother" as well.**

**It has been great as always, and I hope to start another story shortly, but I'm still working on the plot line, so it might be a while. Please take the time to answer my questions, it takes little time and you don't even need an account to do so. Thank you for your support and farewell for now.**

**-Ben**


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